A pupil or disciple（弟子）

→“The shogi master is not willing to take on apprentices.”

→“A former apprentice gave the heavy weight champion a lesson in punching.”

To damage（被害を起こす）

→“The minority group is severely blighted by the ongoing recession.”

→“The writer blighted millions of readers with her wicked comments.”

To carefully and skillfully create（緻密に作り上げる）

→“I watched in awe as the child crafted a beautiful bird out of colored sheets of paper.”

→“The politician gradually crafted his public image over 40 years.”

An outcry; an explosive outburst of anger（憤激）

→“The president’s decision to declare war on Libya without the consent of Congress has caused a furor among the Republicans.”

→“Amid the sex-scandal furor, the lawmaker announced his resignation.”

To move about fast; to spin; to fluctuate（迅速に動き回る、回転または上下運動する）

→“The jazz dancers gyrated effortlessly on the stage.”

→“The stock market gyrated as investors’ worries persisted.”

1. To avoid giving a straightforward answer（にごす、ごまかす）

→“Don’t hedge. Give me a clear answer now.”

→“The Congressman attempted to hedge by saying that he had an urgent business to attend to.”

2. Hedge against: To protect oneself against possible risks（リスクに備えて予防策を取る）

→“Saving a portion of your monthly salary will hedge against future contingencies.”

→“The prefectural government is trying to hedge against the mounting national debt crisis.”

3. Hedge one’s bets: To reduce one’s risks by simultaneously pursuing more than one option（リスクを減らすために複数の選択を同時に取る）

→“She says she is hedging her bets by dating 3 eligible men.”

→“When I was a child, my grandfather taught me the importance of hedging my bets in all critical decision points in life.”

To impress in a powerful, breath-taking way（あっとするほど印象づける）

→“I was mesmerized by her amazing performance on the stage.”

→“The Grand Canyon was just mesmerizing.”

Newly emerging; starting to develop（新しく出現・発展しつつある）

→“The town is working hard to expand its nascent tourist industry.”

→“There are signs of nascent democracy from the new nation.”

Trivial or insignificant（取るに足らない）

→“Forget about it. It’s a paltry issue anyways.”

→“Compared to how much he makes a year, my salary is paltry.”

The lack of need because something or somebody else already exists that performs the same function（余分、重複）

→“When the two major banks merged, it resulted in large scale redundancies in the workforce.”

→“There are numerous redundancies in your report. I want you to go over it carefully and edit it.”

To make something happen in large quantities（多量に発生させる）

→“World War II spawned a lot of best-sellers.”

→“he Internet has spawned new business opportunities around the globe.”

To obstruct and make difficult to succeed（邪魔する）

→“My coworker is jealous of me, taking every opportunity to throttle my success.”

→“The strong yen is gradually throttling Japan’s economy.”