Vocabulary List #4

Apostate - person who forsakes his religion, cause, party
     Although he used to be a republican, people saw him as an apostate when he became a democrat.
Effusive - something or someone showing unrestrained emotion or thankfulness
     She was so effusive toward her boyfriend because of the necklace he bought her.
Impasse - something which there is no escape
     The dungeon was an impasse of death.
Euphoria - great happiness
     Everyone at the party was feeling a lot of euphoria.
Lugubrious - someone who is depressed or sad
     The lugubrious man lost all his money to a thief that day.
Bravado - behavior by a scared person
     She was very bravado during the horror movie.
Consensus - agreement made by a group
     Joey was to be elected president of the club by popular consensus.
Dichotomy - division of things into contradictory parts
     The pizza was dichotomized.
Constrict - to become narrower at a point
     The snake constricted the mouse to death.
Gothic - related to medieval style or mystery horror in 18th, 19th century
     People who dress mostly in black are profiled as gothics.
Punctilio - precise observance of petty formalities
     He was very punctilious while grading essays.
Metamorphosis - change in form, transformation
     The caterpillar went through a metamorphosis into a butterfly.
Raconteur - someone whom tells anecdotes or stories in an amusing way
     During the night the raconteur liked to make fun of people through his stories.
Sine qua non - essential condition, qualification
     In order to get a job you need certain sine qua non.
Quixotic - following beliefs even if they are foolish or unreachable
     He was quixotic into thinking he could go to college with a 2.0.
Vendetta - lingering grudge or felling of hatred
     Batman always had a little vendetta toward the person who killed his parents.
Non sequitur - reply that has nothing in common with previous comment
     His reply to the question was non sequitur and made no sense.
Mystique - aura of mystery
     She was so mystique and mysterious.
Quagmire - complex difficult situation with no easy solution
     The rubix cube although all algorithms, seems to be a quagmire.
Parlous - Perilous, risky, dangerous
     Beowulf went on a parlous journey across the sea.