I'm sorry; my apologies; excuse me; pardon me
miserable; pitiable; shameful; deplorable; pathetic
softly; mildly; gently; politely
to cling to; to hang onto; to rely on; to depend on; to implore; to entreat
fingertip; finger; toe tip; toe
no good; not serving its purpose; hopeless; wasted; cannot; must not
clearly; plainly; distinctly; to be clear; to be definite; to be certain
to stick to; to cling to; to adhere to
deceased husband; late husband
to pick up; to gather; to find (and pick up; something someone has dropped); to select; to choose; to get (unexpectedly); to hit upon (luck, an opportunity, etc.)
benefactor; patron; person to whom one owes a great deal; person to whom one is (deeply) indebted
to roll up; to enfold; to swallow up; to involve; to drag into
to search for; to seek for; to look for
scary; frightening; eerie; dreadful
self-deprecation; self-derision; self-mockery; laughing at oneself
sensation; feeling; tendency; propensity
natural; reasonable; obvious; usual; common; ordinary
everyday; daily; ordinary; usual; routine; regular
simple; easy; uncomplicated; brief; quick; light
to lose; to miss (a chance, opportunity); to lose (a loved one); to be bereaved of; to concede (goals, points, etc.)
to burst into flames; to fire (of a gun); to fan a fire with one's breath; to breathe fire; to spit fire
to erase; to rub out; to turn off (a light, TV, heater, etc.); to switch off; to extinguish (a fire, candle, etc.); to put out; to remove (a smell, pain, etc.)
abrupt; sudden; unexpected
to disappear (of people or animals); to go (away); to leave; to no longer exist
to be cleared of a charge
shuddering; shivering; trembling; being horrified; being disgusted
always; without exception; necessarily; certainly; without fail; positively
innocence; guiltlessness; absence of the fact; insubstantiality; (arch.) insincerity; (arch.) dishonesty
to burst into tears; to burst out crying; to begin to cry; to be moved to tears
please; if you would; somehow or other; one way or another; whether (or not); if
please remember me; please help me; please treat me well; please do; please take care of
to greet; to call out (to); to invite; to get in touch (with); to cheer (on); to give vocal support (to)
ordinary; common; commonplace; mediocre; unremarkable; undistinguished
though; although; notwithstanding; while; as; at the same time as
mild (climate); temperate; gentle (nature, personality, etc.); mild; moderate (statement, measure, etc.); mild
... years old; age (of) ...
research division; research club (e.g. at school, university)
assistant; associate; duplicate; copy; adverb
section chief; laboratory manager; office head; room monitor
gazing at (in wonderment)
in spite of; despite; although; nonetheless; nevertheless; but
matter; affair; counter for (received) emails, text messages, voicemail messages, etc.; counter for accounts (on a website, email service, etc.)
to hear; to catch (the sound of something); to hear about (rumour, etc.); to overhear; to get used to hearing
one-sided; unilateral; arbitrary