Hot Words No.34

Buckle

発音：

[bʌ́kl]

意味：

膝などががくがくになる、反対・プレッシャーなどに屈する

To give way and bend; to give in and do something against one’s wish

例文1：

Her knees buckled when she saw the heaps of work to be done.

例文2：

The politician buckled under pressure and withdrew his demand.

Capricious

発音：

[kəpríʃəs]

意味：

きまぐれな、あてにならない

Changing suddenly and unpredictably; whimsical

例文1：

I am sick of the capricious weather.

例文2：

I don’t want to depend on the whims of a vain, capricious old man.

Deadbeat

発音：

[dédbíːt]

意味：

意欲や人生計画のない人、借金や家賃を踏み倒す人

A person with no motivation or plans in life; someone who habitually misses paying their debts or rent

例文1：

We are unhappy that our only daughter is dating an unemployed deadbeat.

例文2：

The landlord has to be ready to take risks from deadbeat tenants.

Effect

発音：

[ifékt]

意味：

意図した目的を達成する

To bring about an intended result

例文1：

I am not confident that I will be able to effect change in our organization.

例文2：

The president knows how tough it is to effect a political change.

Fend off

発音：

[fénd ɔ́ːf]

意味：

拒絶する、追い払う

To reject; to drive away

例文1：

The company fended off its competitor’s bid for hostile takeover.

例文2：

I wear this crucifixion necklace to fend off evil spirits.

Hanger-on (plural: hangers-on)

発音：

[hǽŋər-άn]

意味：

将来の利益を目当てに権力者や富豪者に付きまとう人

A person who spends a lot of time with a powerful or rich individual in the hopes of getting some advantage from them later on

例文1：

The new prime minister is surrounded by numerous hangers-on from all corners and all walks of life.

例文2：

When he lost his fortune in the financial crisis, all his hangers-on suddenly disappeared.

Negotiate

発音：

[niɡóuʃièit]

意味：

困難な場所や状況を上手く通り越す

To successfully get over a difficult place

例文1：

He had an accident because he could not negotiate a sharp corner.

例文2：

The senior diplomat was able to negotiate a potentially explosive stage in the peace talks.

Probe

発音：

[próub]

意味：

鋭い質問をして調査する

To investigate by asking a series of sharp questions

例文1：

I don’t mean to probe into your personal life, but let me ask you this one question.

例文2：

Scientists are probing the mystery.

例文3：

At the public hearing, the senator was asked some probing questions.