關鍵字彙：
abate/ aggravate/ allay/ alleviate/ ameliorate/ appease/ assuage/ conciliate/ decline/ degenerate/ deteriorate/ escalate/ exacerbate/ mitigate/ mollify/ perk up/ placate/ propitiate/ relieve/ unmitigated
1. 指原本良好的情況轉壞，也就是「走下坡」，用decline或degenerate。decline通常指抽象的層面，如能力、影響力、名聲、健康、權位等。degenerate也可以指這些，但也可以指具體的事物和道德操守方面的墮落：
•The writer's creativity began to decline since the publication of his third novel.
•The old man declined rapidly and soon died.
•His large company has degenerated into a very small store.
•The scrupulous young man has degenerated under the influence of evil company.
•If China does not take effective measures to improve its environment, the Yellow River may degenerate into a little stream some day.
2. 指原本就不好的情況轉壞，也就是「惡化」，用deteriorate、aggravate或exacerbate。deteriorate指情況變壞的速度較為緩慢，exacerbate是比較正式的用字：
•The weather/ His health is deteriorating.
•His lack of exercise and confidence aggravated his already serious illness.
•That quarrel has further exacerbated the couple's relationship.
3. 戰爭情勢的「升高」，用escalate：
•The spoiled negotiation escalated a skirmish into a big war.
•A little war may threaten to escalate into a huge, terrible one.
4. 描寫情況的「減輕」或「緩和」，可用abate、relieve、allay、assuage、alleviate或mitigate。其中，abate比較常用來指惡劣天候的緩和，relieve是減輕病痛、不快情緒或困難的常用字，緩解不快情緒較正式的用字則是allay和assuage；alleviate和mitigate則較常指緩和人為所造成的不利情況。此外，注意和mitigate相關的形容詞unmitigated，它是指人或情況「糟透的」、「無法改善的」：
•The violent typhoon showed no signs of abating even though it had been raging for three hours.
•This new medicine is hoped to relieve the symptoms of flu.
•The government is trying to allay/ assuage public fears/ concern about the spread of the disease.
•He did not want to do anything to alleviate her anger.
•Many measures have been taken to mitigate corruption in the government.
•He did nothing to mitigate her wrath.
•August is a month of unmitigated hot weather.
•He was an unmitigated criminal.
•She believed that her grief would be unmitigated by the passing of time.
5. 描寫採取具體作為「改善」不公平的情況等，用ameliorate，它是improve較為正式的同義字：
•He resolved to dedicate himself to ameliorating the welfare of the indigenous Taiwanese.
6. 表示情況（如某項活動）變活絡或人的精神變好、變熱絡，可用perk up：
•The dance did not perk up until the winsome girl came.
•Let me perk you up with a joke.
•He cannot perk up in the morning without a cup of coffee.
7. 「安撫」用appease、conciliate、mollify、placate和propitiate。一個人之所以會被appease，有時不一定是他愛找麻煩或搗蛋等，而是由於他值得疼惜與憐愛。另外，如果要指對一大群人安撫，conciliate是最恰當的用字；要指安撫鬼神以求消災解厄，propitiate最精準：
•The father appeased the crying boy by promising that he would take him to the zoo.
•In order to conciliate the protesting crowd, the governor agreed to hold a meeting to discuss their proposal as soon as possible.
•These changes have been made in an attempt to conciliate critics of the plan.
•The indignant customer was mollified when the shopkeeper replaced the flawed sofa with a good one.
•He bought his angry girlfriend a beautiful dress, hoping that she would be placated.
•Most Chinese families will prepare grand meals to propitiate the spirits momentarily released from the underworld every lunar July.
•The ancient Greeks had to offer sacrifices to propitiate the gods.
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