VOCABULARY #3

**This weeks sentence theme will be the Big Bang Theory (television program on CBS)

apostate(n)- a person who renounces a religious or political belief or principle.
-Growing up in Texas, Sheldon was raised Christian but once he moved out to California he became an apostate of his religion.

effusive(adj.)- expressing feelings of gratitude, pleasure, or approval in an unrestrained or heartfelt manner.
-Whenever Leonard did any favor for Penny (e.g. going to get money from her six feet tall ex boyfriend) she always effusively thanked him, despite his usual failure.

impasse(n.)- a situation in which no progress is possible, esp. because of disagreement; a deadlock
-When Sheldon and Amy engaged in argument over whether physics was superior to neurobiology or vice-versa, their relationship reached and impasse and they decided to terminate it.

euphoria(n.)- a feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness.
-Whenever Wolowitz got a woman to notice him prior to being married, he would go into an euphoric frenzy resulting from an over-dramatic discharge of hormones.

lugubrious(adj.)- looking or sounding sad and dismal.
-Stuart the Comic Book Guy always speaks lugubriously about his life.

bravado(n.)- a bold manner or a show of boldness intended to impress or intimidate.
-Sheldon can often exaggerate with his intellectual bravado.

consensus(n.)- general agreement.
-The group of friends came to a consensus that Sheldon is an emotionless robot.

dichotomy(n.)- a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different.
-The dichotomy in Sheldon's and Penny's personalities makes their interactions humorous.

constrict(v.)- make narrower, esp. by encircling pressure
-Raj can only speak to women when he is intoxicated with alcohol, but that often constricts his ability to act with caution and gets him in more trouble than if he would just not speak at all.

gothic(adj.)- of or in the style of architecture prevalent in western Europe in the 12th–16th centuries, characterized by pointed arches, rib vaults, and flying buttresses, together with large windows and elaborate tracery.
-In order to pick up women, Raj and Wolowitz dressed up in gothic clothing and went to a gothic night club.

punctilio(n.)- a fine or petty point of conduct or procedure.
-Sheldon is often very strict with his observation of social conventions and punctilios.

metamorphosis(n.)- the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages.
-We can see the group of friends go though a metamorphosis as they interact with each other and together encounter many challenges and new experiences.

raconteur(n.)- a person who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way
-Sheldon's mom is an amusing raconteur when trying to lecture Sheldon's friends about Sheldon.

sine qua non(n.)- an essential condition; a thing that is absolutely necessary.
-Penny is a sine qua non to the group of friends, despite being vastly different than them.

quixotic(adj.)- exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical.
-Sheldon's ideas about himself are quixotic.

vendetta(n.)- a blood feud in which the family of a murdered person seeks vengeance on the murderer or the murderer's family.
-Wolowitz held a personal vendetta on Leonard after he caused an argument between he and Bernadette.

non sequitur(n.)- a conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement.
-The group of friends will have a conversations that if often interrupted by Sheldon's bursts of non sequitur comments.

mystique(n.)- a fascinating aura of mystery, awe, and power surrounding someone or something.
-Penny's mystique personality intrigued and interested Leonard since the day they met.

quagmire(n.)- a sticky situation.
-Leonard landed himself in a quagmire when he had to pick between Penny and Pria.

parlous(adj.)- full of danger or uncertainty; precarious.
-Wolowitz landed himself in a parlous when he got the Mars Rover stuck in a ditch on Mars while trying to impress a girl.