center; centre; middle; -centered; -centred; -focused
placement; fixed position; mapping out; location
to elevate; to raise; to lift up; to flatter; to extol; to praise to the sky
unbearable; intolerable; unendurable
explanation; excuse; clarification; vindication; apology
background; scenery; background (of an incident, situation, etc.); circumstances; backing; support (from behind the scenes)
hedge; fence; border; limit
to clear away; to remove; to demolish
prejudice; bias; distorted view
still; much more; (not) yet; still a long way to go; still a long way off; not there yet
to attend on; to wait on; to accompany; to escort; to chaperone
person concerned; people involved (in an event); those concerned; staff
to cut corners; to be shoddy
to flatter; to curry favor with; to curry favour with; to flirt with (woman with a man); to make eyes at (a man)
to curry favour (with); to play up (to); to cozy up (to); to butter up
to pamper; to make a fuss of; to spoil; to fawn over
(another's) daughter; young lady (of pampered upbringing); woman who has never known hardship; naive woman
to shake; to waver; to tremble
to tell; to (try to) persuade; to advise; to warn; to admonish; to reason
check; plaid; checking; monitoring; check (banking); cheque
cloudy sky; overcast sky; cloudy weather
near; neighbourhood; nearly (e.g. "it took nearly one year"); close to; shortly; soon
to fade (of a colour); to grow dull in color (colour); to lose vividness; to lose freshness; to grow stale
scenery; scene; landscape; scene (e.g. of a crime)
to be petrified; to be unable to move; to be paralyzed (with horror); to be stupefied (with amazement)
still (continuing); as ever; further
to hesitate; to hold back; to be reluctant; to be unwilling; to have loose painful bowel movement; to suffer from tenesmus
as (much) as possible; as (much) as one can; wherever practicable; if possible
reluctantly; grudgingly; unwillingly
honorific; term of respect; polite expression; honorific language
to attack the enemy in his unguarded moment
mask; disguise; guise; mask
selfish; egoistic; self-serving; self-interested
important; serious; valuable; precious; serious matter; major incident
(poor) treatment; (bad) behavior; behaviour; action; act
to investigate thoroughly; to examine closely; to probe into; to be obsessed with a thought; to brood over; to worry about
besides; in addition; also; moreover
expressly; especially; taking the trouble (to do); intentionally; deliberately
toes; tips of the toes; toe of a shoe, sock, etc.
overbearing; coercive; pushy; forcible; high-handed