Vocab Week #4

apostate - adj. not faithful to religion or party or cause; noun a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.
bravado - noun a swaggering show of courage
consensus - noun agreement in the judgment or opinion reached by a group as a whole
constrict - verb become tight or as if tight; squeeze or press together
dichotomy - noun being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses
effusive - adj. extravagantly demonstrative; uttered with unrestrained enthusiasm
euphoria - noun a feeling of great (usually exaggerated) elation
gothic - adj. characterized by gloom and mystery and the grotesque; of or relating to the Goths; of or relating to the language of the ancient Goths; characteristic of the style of type commonly used for printing German; as if belonging to the Middle Ages; old-fashioned and unenlightened; noun a style of architecture developed in northern France that spread throughout Europe between the 12th and 16th centuries; characterized by slender vertical piers and counterbalancing buttresses and by vaulting and pointed arches; a heavy typeface in use from 15th to 18th centuries; extinct East Germanic language of the ancient Goths; the only surviving record being fragments of a 4th-century translation of the Bible by Bishop Ulfilas
impasse - noun a street with only one way in or out; a situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible
lugubrious - adj. excessively mournful
metamorphosis - noun a complete change of physical form or substance especially as by magic or witchcraft; the marked and rapid transformation of a larva into an adult that occurs in some animals; a striking change in appearance or character or circumstances
mystique - noun an aura of heightened value or interest or meaning surrounding a person or thing
parlous - adj. fraught with danger
punctilio - noun strict observance of formalities; a fine point of etiquette or petty formality
quagmire - noun a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
quixotic - adj. not sensible about practical matters; unrealistic
raconteur - noun a person skilled in telling anecdotes
vendetta - noun a feud in which members of the opposing parties murder each other