Monday, January 27, 2014

Vocabulary: #3 Spring

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.



effusive - adj. extravagantly demonstrative; uttered with unrestrained enthusiasm



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
euphoria - noun a feeling of great (usually exaggerated) elation



lugubrious - adj. excessively mournful



bravado - noun a swaggering show of courage



consensus - noun agreement in the judgment or opinion reached by a group as a whole



dichotomy - noun being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses



constrict - verb become tight or as if tight; squeeze or press together



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



punctilio - noun strict observance of formalities; a fine point of etiquette or petty formality



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



raconteur - noun a person skilled in telling anecdotes



sine qua non - an indispensable and essential action, condition, or ingredient.

quixotic - adj. not sensible about practical matters; unrealistic



vendetta - noun a feud in which members of the opposing parties murder each other



non sequitur - An inference or conclusion that does not follow from the premises or evidence; A statement that does not follow logically from what preceded it.

mystique - noun an aura of heightened value or interest or meaning surrounding a person or thing



quagmire - noun a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot



parlous - adj. fraught with danger

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