(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
If you have an ~ of something, you know how it works or know what it means.
They have to have a basic ~ of computers in order to use the advanced technology.
= grasp
N-VAR: N of n
2.
If you are ~ towards someone, you are kind and forgiving.
Her boss, who was very ~, gave her time off...
Fortunately for John, he had an ~ wife.
= sympathetic
ADJ
3.
If you show ~, you show that you realize how someone feels or why they did something, and are not hostile towards them.
We would like to thank them for their patience and ~.
N-UNCOUNT
4.
If there is ~ between people, they are friendly towards each other and trust each other.
There was complete ~ between Wilson and myself.
N-UNCOUNT: usu N between pl-n
5.
An ~ is an informal agreement about something.
We had not set a date for marriage but there was an ~ between us.
N-COUNT: N prep
6.
If you say that it is your ~ that something is the case, you mean that you believe it to be the case because you have heard or read that it is.
It is my ~ that this torture has been going on for many years...
N-SING: poss N, oft N that
7.
If you agree to do something on the ~ that something else will be done, you do it because you have been told that the other thing will definitely be done.
Kevin had treatment on the ~ that he would attempt to overcome his drinking problem.
PHRASE