Sadlier Oxford's Vocabulary Workshop Level H Unit 11

apostate

(n.) one who forsakes his or her religion, party, or cause

syn: renegade, defector, turncoat

ant: true believer, loyalist

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 stoop 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 in an ancestral line

syn: schism, division, 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, eerie

impasse

(n.) a dead end; a position from which there is no escape; a problem to which there is no solution

syn: deadlock, standoff, stalemate

lugubrious

(adj.) sad, mournful, or gloomy, especially to an exaggerated or ludicrous degree

syn: doleful, melancholy, dismal, dolorous

ant: merry, 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 premisis

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: fine point, nicety

quagmire

(n.) soft, soggy mud or slush; a difficult or entrapping situation

syn: fen, marsh, bog, 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: storyteller, anecdotist

sine qua non

(n.) an essential or indispensable element or condition

syn: necessity, requisite, 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