To increase; to improve（増やす、強化する）

→“The economic success bolsters China’s global prestige.”

→“I gave her encouragement to bolster her confidence.”

To make a miserable mistake; to make a mess; to walk unsteadily（恥ずかしい失敗をする、めちゃめちゃにする、よたよたと歩く）

→“I was so nervous standing on the podium that I bumbled the speech.”

→“After he had a few drinks at the bar, Charles bumbled through the shopping district.”

To raise; to keep up; to cheer up（浮上させる、気分を浮き上がらせる）

→“Your smile always buoys me up.”

→“The Nikkei stock average was buoyed by Wall Street gains.”

An elderly authority; a senior person with seasoned experience（経験が長く権威のある人）

→“The professor is the doyen of Japanese art.”

→“The Senator is a doyen of power politics.”

Impassioned; strongly felt（強い感情を込めた、毅然とした、断固とした）

→“She was emphatic in her denial of any knowledge of the crime.”

→“The dictator is emphatic that his rule over the country is unshaken.”

To become shaky and unsteady; to speak hesitatingly（よろめく、口ごもる）

→“The nation is faltering amid rising public unrest.”

→“The child faltered an apology to the owner of the dog.”

To demonstrate one’s ability or skills（実力を発揮、披露する）

→“China is flexing its political and economic muscles these days.”

→“This job gives me an opportunity to flex my translation muscles.”

Full of problems or worry（心配そうな、たくさんの問題を抱えた、懸念すべき）

→“The mother looks fraught as her oldest son is assigned to a post in Iraq.”

→“With inflation and unemployment steadily rising, the future is fraught.”

Filled with; charged（一杯である、充満している）

→“The movie was fraught with action and excitement.”

→“The nation’s path to democracy is fraught with challenges.”

Overconfidence, often to one’s own detriment; arrogant pride（過剰な自信、驕り）

→“The president’s hubris brought about his own downfall.”

→“There is hubris among the ruling class.”

The practice or art of competing for superiority over a rival （優位をめぐっての競い合い）

→“Toyota and GM are engaged in a game of one-upmanship in the China market.”

→“The US is paying high costs of military one-upmanship with Russia.”

To hit many times quickly; to defeat an opponent completely（素早く何度も打つ、徹底的に負かす）

→“Rocky pummeled Apollo’s chest.”

→“The Chunichi Dragons were pummeled by the Lotte Marines in the Japan Series.”

To change around: to rearrange; to reorganize（入れ替える、再編する）

→“Under increasing pressure from the public, the president reshuffled the cabinet.”

→“I decided to change my college major, and had to spend a whole day reshuffling my classes.”

Filled; abundant; widespread（充満している、拡散している）

→“The meeting was rife with bitter disagreements.”

→“Crime is rife in the big city.”

An unexpected obstacle; a dilemma（予想外の難点、行き詰まり）

→“It is a nice restaurant. The only snag is that they close at 10 pm.”

→“The peace talk hit a snag.”