opening (a letter, parcel, etc.); breaking the seal; unboxing (a product); unsealed mail
writing paper; stationery; notepaper
elegant; refined; polished; high-quality goods; first-class article
to pierce; to penetrate; to be infected (with vice); to be steeped (with prejudice); to feel keenly; to make a deep impression
crying oneself to sleep; giving up in frustration; accepting meekly; being compelled to accept a situation
absorbed in; immersed in; forgetting oneself; daze; within a dream; while dreaming
(weep) quietly; silently; (cry) bitterly
to be wounded; to get injured; to get hurt feelings; to get damaged; to get chipped
to become thin; to lose weight; to reduce (one's) weight; to be barren; to be infertile; to be sterile
to exhaust one's vocabulary (in trying to persuade somebody or explain something, etc.); to run out of words; to be verbose; to cajole; to talk someone's head off
comfort; consolation; diversion
tearing up and discarding (e.g. documents); disposal (e.g. weaponry); annulment; cancellation; reversal (of an original ruling)
to love one another; to be affectionate towards each other; to have sex; to make love
one's manners; one's attitude
fame; reputation; popularity; rumour (rumor); talk
if that's the case ...; if so ...; that being the case ...
appropriate; adequate; suitable; fitting; worthy
chance; start; cue; excuse; motive; impetus
casual; doing something without taking it too seriously
to dress (oneself in); to attire oneself in; to adorn; to pretend; to feign; to affect
on purpose; deliberately; intentionally
prior; beforehand; in advance; before the fact; ex ante
to train; to teach; to acquire (information); to learn; to stock; to stock up on
imitation; fake; phony; pseudo-
gesture; movement; action; acting; performance
thoroughness; completeness; consistency; thorough enforcement; seeing to it that a policy, etc. is carried out without exception
unsatisfying; disappointing; abrupt; not enough; too quick; too short
to carry off; to run away with; to sweep away; to take entirely for oneself; to monopolize
dull; uninteresting; insignificant; unimportant; absurd; foolish
immediately; right away; at once; instantly
to get tired of; to lose interest in; to be fed up with; to have enough
long ago; a long time ago; already
to be defeated; to be beaten; to be unsuccessful; to lose
to stay indoors; to be confined indoors