Vocabulary Fall List #4

Apostate:  n. someone who forsakes their religion, cause, party, etc.  

You don’t see many prominent apostates in today’s society.

Effusive: adj. overflowing, pouring out, extravagantly demonstrative

Sandy’s effusive monologue when trying to sell one of her products began to grow irritating.

Impasse: n. position or demonstration from which there is no escape; deadlock

Sarah and Owen reached an impasse when an argument broke out whether or not if Thor is greater than Loki.

Euphoria: n. a feeling of happiness or confidence; feeling of great elation

Sierra had a sudden feeling of euphoria when she won the point in the tennis match.

Lugubrious: adj. excessively mournful

Hades is known to be a very lugubrious character in the tale of Hercules.

Bravado: n. swaggering show of courage

His bravado began to show when he stood in line for Lex Luther Drop of Doom at Six Flags, a four hundred foot drop.

Consensus: n. majority agreement; harmony

There was a muttering of consensus around the room when they decided to go with advertising Light Speed Briefs.  

Constrict: v. become tight; squeeze or press together

My chest constricted at the sound of a helpless whine from the puppy behind closed bars at the pound.

Dichotomy: n. division in two parts or two different groups in contradiction

The dichotomy within the group didn’t help them gain many votes for that party.

Gothic: adj. style of architecture developed in northern France that spread throughout Europe between 12^th and 16^th centuries.

The Gothic style of the structures in Europe fascinated many tourists visiting that day.

Punctilio: n. strict observance of formalities; fine point of petty formality

She wanted every punctilio to be followed while planning the surprise party.

Metamorphosis: n. complete change of physical form or substance; striking change in appearance or character or circumstances

The metamorphosis between freshman year and senior year for Kelli and I have increased tenfold.

Raconteur: n. a person skilled in telling anecdotes

Dr. Preston’s raconteur really had me convinced that a bullet was lodged in his shoulder near Halloween time two years ago.  

Sine qua non: n. indispensable condition or factor; something essential

Game Night is sine qua non when wanting to hang out and play games with friends every month.

Quixotic: adj. not sensible about practical matters; unrealistic

His quixotic deed in freeing the animals from the zoo led to disastrous consequences.

Vendetta: n. a feud in which members of opposing parties murder each other

The Capulet’s and Montague’s vendetta for one another was a major key in the story.

Non Sequitur: n. conclusion that does not follow from the premises

Jessica’s non sequitur made it obvious that she did not know how to give a valid conclusion to her argument.

Mystique: n. an aura of heightened value or interest or meaning surrounding a person or thing

The mystique in animation continues to allure and amaze me with the motions of each character.

Quagmire: n. a boggy area; soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot

Karianne grimaced at the sound of her foot unsticking itself from the deep roots of the quagmire she stood in.

Parlous:  n. dangerous, perilous

Somehow Arthur knew that the day was going to be parlous when he woke up this morning with a yellow bulldozer about to knock his house down.