fruitless effort; wasted effort; abortive scheme; futility
opposite effect; adverse effect; backfiring
major powers of the world; great powers
to harm; to cause harm to
being settled quickly; reaching a quick conclusion; no need to say any more; no problem
being startled, surprised or afraid; panic; trepidation
after (a long process); at the end of; last line (of a renga)
to trap (into a difficult situation); to put (in a fix); to capture (a castle, fortress, etc.); to take; to drop (something) into
to hear; to listen (e.g. to music); to ask; to enquire; to hear about; to hear of; to follow (advice, order, etc.)
to get cloudy; to cloud over; to cloud up; to fog up; to be gloomy; to be clouded (expression)
to break; to fracture; to fold; to bend; to make (origami); to interrupt
duty; sense of duty; honor; in-law; relation by marriage
thought; imagination; mind; desire; wish; love
drip; fall drop-by-drop; suddenly (of drops of water)
solitude; loneliness; isolation
sublime; noble; high-minded
(a) weakness; shortcoming; failing; sore point
single; solo; solitary; just one; only one
being (somewhere); sitting
to grant (request, wish); to answer (prayer); to fulfill (conditions); to meet (requirements)
to sharpen; to grind; to whet; to hone; to make keen
creak; squeak; creaking; discord; strife; friction
on the brink of collapse; in a state of near-collapse
to press down; to hold down; to pin down; to suppress (feelings, disorder, opposition, etc.); to repress
tedious talk; impertinent talk; repetitious talk; saucy speech; pretentious statement
right of control; supremacy; sovereignty
to resound; to echo; to reverberate
tangent point; point of contact; contact (electrical, etc.); point of agreement; common ground
10^8; 100,000,000; hundred million
wasteland; wilderness; abandoned land; devastated land
waves that remain after the wind has subsided; after-effect; aftermath
to writhe (in pain); to be in agony; to be anguished; to be agonized; to be troubled
via; through; by doing; by means of; using
to manufacture; to produce; to raise (crops); to invent; to dream up; to create
contradiction; inconsistency
taboo; day, time, direction, words, etc. that must be avoided; contraindication
ugly; unsightly; hideous; mean; repulsive; disgraceful