Vocabulary (Book H, List 11) - Honors English 11

Apostate

(n.) One who forsakes his or her religion, party, or cause. (syn. renegade, defector; ant. true believer)

Bravado

(n.) A display of false or assumed courage. (syn. swagger, bluster, braggadocio; ant. mettle, bravery, pluck)

Consensus

(n.) A collective or general agreement of opinion, feeling, or thinking. (syn. unanimity, concord, accord, harmony; ant. dissension, discord, disagreement)

Constrict

(v.) To make smaller or narrower, draw together, squeeze; to stop or cause to falter. (Syn. contract, curb, restrain; ant. enlarge, dilate, expand)

Dichotomy

(n.) A division into two contradictory or mutually exclusive parts; a branching or forking an ancestral line. (syn. schism, bifurcation; ant. uniformity, oneness)

Effusive

(adj.) Highly demonstrative; unrestrained. (syn. gushy, lavish; ant. restrained, reserved, muted, subdued)

Euphoria

(n.) A feeling of great happiness or well-being, often with no objective basis. (syn. elation, bliss, ecstasy, rapture; ant. melancholy, depression, gloom)

Gothic

(adj.) Characterized by or emphasizing a gloomy setting and grotesque or violent events; such a literary or artistic style; a type of medieval architecture. (syn. sinister)

Impasse

(n.) A dead end; a position from which there is no escape; a problem to which there is no solution. (syn. standoff, stalemate)

Lugubrious

(adj.) Sad, mournful, or gloomy, especially to an exaggerated or ludicrous degree. (syn. doleful, melancholy, dismal; ant. jovial, hilarious, funny)

Metamorphosis

(n.) A complete transformation, as if by magic. (syn. change, makeover)

Mystique

(n.) An aura or attitude of mystery or veneration surrounding something or someone. (syn. charisma)

non sequitur

(n.) An inference or conclusion that does not follow logically from the facts or premises. (syn. illogical reference, unsound conclusion)

Parlous

(adj.) Full of danger or risk, perilous. (syn. hazardous, risky, dangerous; ant. safe, secure, risk-free)

Punctilio

(n.) A minute detail of conduct or procedure; an instant of time. (syn. nicety)

Quagmire

(n.) Soft, soggy mud or slush; a difficult or entrapping situation. (syn. fen, marsh, morass; ant. bedrock, solid footing, terra firma)

Quixotic

(adj.) Extravagantly or romantically idealistic; visionary without regard to practical considerations. (syn. fanciful, impractical, utopian; ant. realistic, down-to-earth, pragmatic)

Raconteur

(n.) A person who tells stories and anecdotes with great skill. (syn. anecdotist)

sine qua non

(n.) An essential or indispensable element or condition. (syn. necessity, desideratum)

Vendetta

(n.) A prolonged feud, often between two families, characterized by retaliatory acts of revenge; any act motivated by vengeance. (syn. blood feud, rivalry)