With criticism or disapproval（批判・非難をこめて）

→“The teacher looked askance when she entered the classroom and found it a total mess.”

→“The cashier woman looked askance at me when I brought a pile of teenage romantic paperbacks to the counter.”

To be so frequently used or commonplace that it ceases to be interesting; to be stale or trivial（新奇さに欠け陳腐な、平凡な）

→“In romantic novels, the expression ‘I love you’ has become banal.”

→“Oh, the train ride was long and boring. For the most part, I was engaged in banal conversations with my fellow passengers.”

To be unable to move or talk due to a shock, nervousness, fatigue or illness（ショック、緊張、疲労、疾病などで動けない状態、または声が出ない状態）

→“When she heard the news, she was catatonic for a few minutes till the phone rang.”

→“After the accident he remained in a catatonic state at the hospital for 3 weeks.”

To activate; to leverage; to organize and station military forces or equipment（駆動する、配置する）

→“This is a rather difficult project. You must deploy all your talents.”

→“The US forces deployed advanced missiles in the ongoing war in Afghanistan.”

Happy; enthusiastic; excited（喜びにあふれ活気ある）

→“People love the child because she is always ebullient.”

→“The philosopher has an ebullient personality, and it is reflected in his optimistic view of human nature.”

Ridiculous and devoid of meaning; silly（無意味な、馬鹿げた、くだらない）

→“That was a fatuous thing for me to say. I am sorry, I didn’t really mean it.”

→“When the students started asking fatuous questions, the teacher got exasperated and walked out of the room.”

Mundane and boring（日常茶飯事で退屈な）

→“Oh, my life is very structured. I keep to a regimented schedule. My wife says it is humdrum.”

→“Most people are too preoccupied with their humdrum existence to think about philosophical matters.”

Someone who criticizes or destroys conventional ideas or customs（常識や習慣を批判したり破壊する者）

→“I am proud to be an iconoclast. I don’t see the point of blindly accepting conventional wisdom.”

→“Every major progress in human history was initiated by one iconoclast or another.”

No longer interested or curious（興味や関心が廃れた）

→“In today’s class I am not going to talk about the political situation in the Middle East. It’s been commented on and discussed so extensively that I am already jaded.”

→“Don’t have such a jaded attitude. This problem deserves a fresh approach.”

Slight and inconspicuous but meaningful; subtle（微妙な）

→“When you read his novels, you must pay close attention to his nuanced language so you will grasp the full meaning of his words.”

→“In addressing the peace conference, the speaker skillfully used nuanced language, being careful not to offend any parties.”

To add or sprinkle a big dose of something（多量の～を付け加える）

→“I always pepper my lecture with a lot of jokes.”

→“His brilliant career path is peppered with scandals.”

Annoying; irritating（癇に障る）

→“While I was having a sandwich by the river, those pesky mosquitoes kept bothering me.”

→“The new bank manager is determined to run his business without the pesky risks.”

A commotion; a loud argument（大騒ぎ、大喧嘩）

→“The company management is desperately trying to prevent the labor dispute from developing into a ruckus.”

→“The quarrel between the two actors resulted in a major ruckus.”

To fall short of; to fail to miss the target quota（～に満たない）

→“The marathon runner ran a good race but was 2 minutes shy of a world record.”

→“Emergency food provision for the disaster victims is still shy of the target figure.”