Apostate (n)One who forsakes his or her religion, party, or cause

Syn: renegade, defector

Ant: true believer, loyalist

***opposite of the rest

Bravado (n)

A display of false or assumed courage

Syn: swagger, bluster, braggadocio

Ant: mettle, bravery, pluck

***false bravery

Consensus (n)

A collective or general agreement of opinion, feeling, or thinking

Syn: unanimity, concord, accord

Ant: disagreement, discord

**con- together

Constrict (v)To make smaller or narrower, draw together, squeeze; to stop or cause to falter

Syn: contract, curb, restrain

Ant: enlarge, expand

** boa constrictor

Dichotomy (n)A division into two contradictory or mutually exclusive parts; a branching or forking in an ancestral line

Syn: schism, division Ant: uniformity, oneness ** di - two

Effusive (adj)

highly, demonstrative; unrestrained

Syn: gushy, lavish

Ant: restrained, reserved, subdued

Euphoria (n)A feeling of great happiness or well-being, often with no objective basis

Syn: elation, bliss Ant: melancholy, 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

** goth

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

Syn: deadlock, stalemate

**N0 pass

Lugubrious (adj)

Sad, mournful, or gloomy, especially to an exaggerated or ludicrous degree

Syn: doleful, dismal

Ant: merry, jovial, funny

*** “blue-rious”

Metamorphosis (n)

A complete transformation, as if by magic

Syn: change, makeover

**morph – transform

Mystique (n)

An aura or attitude of mystery or veneration surrounding something or someone

Syn: charisma

**mysterious

Non sequitur (n)An inference or conclusion that does not follow logically from the facts or premises

Syn: illogical reference, unsound conclusion

** not in sequence

Parlous (adj)

Full of danger or risk; perilous

Syn: hazardous, risky, dangerous

ant: safe, secure, risk-free **perilous

Punctilio (n)A minute detail of conduct or procedure; an instant of time

Syn: fine point, nicety

**punctual

Quagmire (n)Soft, soggy mud or slush; a difficult or entrapping situation

Syn: marsh, bog, morass

Ant: bedrock, terra firma

**mired

Quixotic (adj)

Extravagantly or romantically idealistic; visionary without regard to practical considerations

Syn: fanciful, impractical, utopian

Ant: realistic, down-to-earth, pragmatic

***exotic

Raconteur (n)

A person who tells stories and anecdotes with great skill

Syn: storyteller, anecdotist

***recount a story

Sine qua non (n)

An essential or indispensable element or condition

Syn: necessity, requisite

Vendetta (n)

A prolonged feud, often between two families, characterized by retaliatory acts of revenge; any at motivated by vengeance

Syn: blood feud, rivalry

***V for Vendetta