dilution; watering down; inflation (of budget, claim, etc.); padding
financial power; financial means; wealth
(political) power; authority; influence
particle; atom; little piece; not at all; not the slightest
to stub out (e.g. a cigarette); to crush out; to smother (fire); to hush up; to cover up; to stifle
rumor; rumour; gossip; report
to resound; to be heard far away; to reverberate; to shake; to come (home); to remain (with someone)
self-sacrifice; self-renunciation
to one's regret; regrettably; unfortunately; what can be done about ...; ... cannot be helped
in short; in a word; to sum up; to put it simply; to make a long story short; after all
negative (e.g. thinking); negative; negative (electrical polarity)
nonexistent; nil; none; nothing (at all); bugger-all
expectation; anticipation; hope; promising; rising; up-and-coming
to prick; to stab; to poke; to prod; to use (a cane); to prop oneself up with
injury; wound; mistake; accident; loss
to do as one wishes; to act as one wills
until something reaches the very limit; until the very last minute; up to the breaking point
to (hit and) crush; to smash; to squash; to defeat soundly; to crush (an opponent, hopes, etc.)
to sympathize with; to sympathise with; to think of (a far-off person, place, etc.); to cast one's mind to; to worry about; to feel anxious about
valuation; appraisal; evaluation; appreciation; recognition; acknowledgement
to come down; to go down; to hang; to dangle; to move back; to step back; to deteriorate
enjoyable; fun; pleasant; happy; delightful
comfortable (to live in); snug; cozy; cosy
to gain time; to play for time; to buy time
to lend an ear to; to listen to
pert; tomboyish; impudent; (arch.) gallant; (arch.) chivalrous
to come near; to let someone approach; to bring near; to bring together; to deliver (opinion, news, etc.); to send (e.g. a letter); to let someone drop by
whispering into a person's ear
vague; ambiguous; shady; disreputable; fuzzy
duty; responsibility (incl. supervision of staff); liability; onus
serious; important; significant; grave; weighty
large; big; great; prominent; -sized; as big as; university
withdrawal; retraction; revocation; repeal
giga-; 10^9; gigabyte; GB; data traffic (esp. on mobile phone)
gradually; by degrees; little by little; steps; stairs; staircase
to fail; to blunder; to mess up; to be dismissed; to be fired
to be able to manage somehow or other
to search for; to look for; to hunt for; to search (a house, pocket, etc.); to search through; to rummage in (e.g. a drawer)
steady; sound; stable; safe (e.g. business); reliable; trustworthy
to vacate; to surrender (e.g. a castle); to give up (e.g. a position); to hand over (e.g. power)
byway; bypath; byroad; loophole; way out (of trouble); excuse
husband and wife; married couple
strict; severe; stringent; rigorous; rigid; firm