national politics; political situation; statecraft; body politic
rote memorization (memorisation); rote learning; indiscriminate memorizing (memorising)
meritocracy; merit system
appointment; assignment; promotion
particle used to indicate the speaker's hope, desire, wish, etc. (e.g. "it would be nice if ...", "I wish there were ...", etc.); emphatic particle; particle adding uncertainty
sign; indication; omen; symptom
influential; prominent; leading; strong; powerful; likely
elite bureaucrat; high government official; high-ranking bureaucrat; senior government official
to call in; to invite; to bring in
success; achievement; succeeding (in life); (worldly) success; prosperity
composition (of painting); structural outline; compositional arrangement
structure; construction; makeup; framework; organization; pattern
even; even if ...; even though ...; because ...; as ...; with the purpose of ...
still more; even more; all the more; still less; even less
to correct; to rectify; to reform; to straighten (one's posture, collar, etc.); to adjust
to disclose; to divulge; to expose; to open (a grave); to dig out
helper; assistant; help; assistance
somehow; for some reason; without knowing why
to serve (in a bowl, on a plate, etc.); to dish out; to pile up; to heap up; to administer (medicine, poison); to dose out; to put into (e.g. information in a report, meaning in a statement)
to incur someone's enmity
lively; energetic; vigorously (jumping, flopping, etc.); piercing (e.g. sound); penetrating
hard-to-do; difficult; tough; awkward; tricky
to be eloquent; to have a way with words
doubt; question; uncertainty; skepticism; scepticism; suspicion
rich (flavor, color, etc.); strong (e.g. odor); probable; (very) likely; passionate; sensuous
to emboss; to print out; to print; to work out (e.g. policy); to hammer out; to strike (a drum indicating the end of a performance)
mediocre; ordinary; commonplace; banal
rise (e.g. of a movement); emergence; rearing one's head; gaining prominence; coming to the fore; gaining power
to invite; to ask; to beckon; to wave someone in; to call in; to send for
to reflect on (oneself, past conduct, etc.); to contemplate; to examine; to think over; to introspect
to release; to let go; to free; to add (pieces of eggplant, potato, etc.) to water, broth, etc.
to wipe; to mop up; to get rid of (an impression, feeling, blemish, etc.); to dispel (e.g. shame); to erase
to serve as; to act as; to fill (the position of); to play the role of; to be in charge of; to hold (a position)
important person; influential figure; big shot; big thing; big one; big game
refusal; rejection; denial; veto
main; principal; main dish; main course; main part; principal part
(the crime of) high treason
to kidnap (esp. by force or deception); to abduct; to snatch
threat; bird-scaring device (scarecrow, gun, etc.)
to decrease; to be reduced; to reduce; to lessen; to subtract; to deduct
investigation; examination; inquiry; enquiry; survey