Hot Words No.30

Awhile

発音：

[əhwáil]

意味：

ちょっとの間

For a brief time

例文1：

Wait for me awhile. I just want to send this one e-mail.

例文2：

Okay, we are pulling into the rest area. Get off the bus and stretch awhile.

Brouhaha

発音：

[brúːhɑːhὰː]

意味：

大袈裟な評判、過剰に取り沙汰されること

An exaggerated reaction; overblown attention

例文1：

I am sick of all the brouhaha that the media are creating about the astronaut.

例文2：

There was a widespread brouhaha when the actress announced her intention to run for president.

Closure

発音：

[klóuƷər]

意味：

事やプロセスに終止符が打たれたという実感、心の区切り

The dawning of a feeling that something has been completed and put to rest

例文1：

The solemn graduation ceremony gave the students a sense of closure.

例文2：

The execution of the serial murderer brought a closure to the victims’ families.

Corrode

発音：

[kəróud]

意味：

〜を徐々に弱める・破壊する

To weaken or destroy gradually

例文1：

The manager’s pattern of verbal abuse is corroding the team members’ confidence in the company.

例文2：

The spread of drug addiction among the youth is corroding the country.

Forebear

発音：

[fɔ́ːrbέər]

意味：

先祖、前身

An ancestor; a precursor

例文1：

My favorite pastime is to look up my forebears in the family tree.

例文2：

I am interested in Judaism as the forebear of Christianity.

Lugubrious

発音：

[luɡjúːbriəs]

意味：

非常に悲しい

Extremely sad and melancholy

例文1：

I heard a lugubrious howl from the bushes and turned around.

例文2：

What’s wrong? You look so lugubrious today.

Portend

発音：

[pɔːrténd]

意味：

何か悪いことが起こる兆しとなる、前触れとなる

To serve as a sign that something bad is going to happen

例文1：

Before the calamity struck the coastal village, there were some strange phenomena that portended disaster.

例文2：

This latest white-collar crime portends a wave of similar sophisticated criminal acts by copycats.

Prod

発音：

[prάd]

促す、行動を起こすようプッシュする

例文1：

During our one-on-one meeting, my boss gave me an ultimatum. It prodded me into quick action to drive up my sales figures.

例文2：

The party members are now prodding the unpopular president to resign before his term is up.