Preoccupation

Preoccupation

the thing you think about most:

 His preoccupation with sports is affecting his grades.

Hierarchy

a system in which people or things are put at various levels or ranks according to their importance:

He rapidly rose in the corporate hierarchy.

Diminish

to reduce or be reduced in size or importance:

 The threat of inflation is diminishing.

 A single-payer system would diminish the bureaucratic cost of health.

maltreatment

to treat someone cruelly or violently

He had been badly maltreated as a child. 

They complained about the physical and psychological maltreatment of prisoners.

Siege

Siege

the act of surrounding a place by an armed force in order to defeat those defending it:

 After a month-long siege, they gave themselves up to federal agents.

The town was under siege.

Weary

very tired,  from hard work:

Even my brain is weary tonight!

Kiss me mother kiss your darlin'
Lay my head upon your breast
Throw your loving arms around me
I am weary let me rest

Seems the light is swiftly fading
Brighter scenes they do now show
I am standing by the river
Angels wait to take me home

Kiss me mother kiss your darlin'
See the pain upon my brow
While I'll soon be with the angels
Fate has doomed my future now

Through the years you've always loved me
And my life you've tried to save
But now I shall slumber sweetly
In a deep and lonely grave

Kiss me mother kiss your darlin'
Lay my head upon your breast
Throw your loving arms around me
I am weary let me rest
I am weary let me rest

Sneak

Sneak
to go or do something secretly, or take someone or something somewhere secretly 
He sneaked out of the house, going out through the back way.
 I sneaked a look at my watch.
 Make sure you sneak a little bit of protein into your snacks. 
 He snuck out of the budget meeting and went back to the lab.