Vocabulary #3

apostate: abandoning a religious or political belief or principle
- He became an apostate from communism.
effusive: expressing feelings of gratitude
- Her effusive feelings made them feel proud of what they did.
 impasse: a situation in which no progress is possible
- Their government was in a political impasse.
 euphoria: A feeling of great happiness
- The team was in a state of euphoria after winning the game.
 lugubrious: looking or sounding sad or dismal
- He was lugubrious after he lost the competition.
 bravado: Defiant behavior
- He's full of bravado but he is really a coward.
 consensus: a general agreement
- The consensus was that we would have the new student join.
 dichotomy: a division or contrast between two things
- There was a big dichotomy between their opinions.
 constrict: make narrower
- The cones constricted the road we drove on.
 gothic: characterized by or emphasizing a gloomy setting and grotesque or violent events
- He had a love for gothic novels.
 punctilio: a fine or petty point of conduct
- No situation should be compromised by punctilio.
 metamorphosis: a complete transformation
- The girl went through a complete metamorphosis by the end of the novel.
 raconteur: a person who tells anecdotes in a skill and amusing way
- His friends knew him and the entertaining raconteur.
 sine qua non: an essential or indispensable element or condition
- He forgot the most important sine qua non for warm weather, drinking water.
 quixotic: exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical
- Her quixotic idea was not liked by the others.
 vendetta: a prolonged feud, typically between two families.
- The two families had a vendetta that has lasted for centuries.
 non sequitur: an argument in which the conclusion does not follow the premises
- Again, you have made a non sequitur answer to my question.
 mystique: an aura or attitude of mystery
- Her mystique made her a very appealing person
 quagmire: a difficult, precarious or entrapping position
- His lies got him into a deeper quagmire than he was already in.
 parlous: full of danger
- We were told not to enter that building because the police said it was parlous.