I.
noun
1 authority/control
ADJECTIVE
▪ absolute , ultimate
▪ considerable , enormous , tremendous
▪ real
▪
The emperor held no real ~.
▪ limited
▪ arbitrary
▪ economic , legal , legislative , political
▪ corporate
▪ executive
▪
He sits on the board but has no executive ~.
▪ veto
▪ popular
▪ secular
▪ federal
▪ imperial
▪ higher
▪
belief in a higher ~
VERB + POWER
▪ come to , rise to
▪
When did this government come to ~?
▪ assume , gain , get , seize , take
▪
The prince assumed ~ in his father's place.
▪ return to
▪ restore sb to , return sb to
▪ have , hold
▪
The court has no ~ to order a psychiatric examination of the child's parents.
▪
They held ~ for 18 years.
▪ share
▪ exercise , use , wield
▪ demonstrate , show
▪ abuse
▪ confer , give sb , grant sb
▪
certain ~s that were granted to the government
▪ limit
▪ lack
▪ fall from , lose
▪
They fell from ~ in 1992.
▪ give up , relinquish , renounce
▪ delegate , devolve ( esp. BrE )
▪
Some states delegate police ~ to municipalities.
POWER + VERB
▪ be concentrated in (the hands of sb/sth) , flow from sb/sth , lie with sb/sth , rest with sb/sth
▪
The real legislative ~ still rests with the lower chamber.
POWER + NOUN
▪ struggle
▪
Who will get the upper hand in this ~ struggle?
▪ relations , structure
▪ base
▪
The party's ~ base is in the industrial north of the country.
▪ broker
PREPOSITION
▪ in ~
▪
the party in ~
▪ in sb's ~
▪
They held us in their ~.
▪ ~ of
▪
the ~ of veto
▪ ~ over
▪
The government has limited legal ~s over television.
PHRASES
▪ abuse of ~
▪ the balance of ~
▪
The war brought about a shift in the balance of ~.
▪ a bid for ~
▪ the exercise of ~
▪ a position of ~
▪
the father's position of ~ and influence in the home
▪ the ~ behind the throne (= the person who is really in control)
▪
People say that the First Lady is the ~ behind the throne.
▪ a transfer of ~
▪
the transfer of ~ from a military to a civilian government
2 ability to do sth
ADJECTIVE
▪ air , combat , military , naval , sea ( esp. BrE )
▪
an increase in China's air ~
▪ fire
▪
weapons with enormous fire ~
▪ bargaining
▪ computing , processing
▪ healing
▪
the healing ~ of sleep
▪ buying , earning , purchasing
▪ staying
▪
Having served in four governments, he has the greatest staying ~ of any politician today.
▪ special
▪ magic , magical , mystical , psychic , supernatural
▪
They believe he has supernatural ~s.
VERB + POWER
▪ have , possess
▪ use
▪ develop
▪ increase , limit , reduce
▪ lack
▪ lose
▪
Religion is rapidly losing its ~ to shape our lives.
▪ underestimate
▪
Don't underestimate my ~s of persuasion.
PREPOSITION
▪ beyond sb/sth's ~
▪
a task still beyond any computer's ~
▪ in sb's ~ , within sb's ~
▪
I'm afraid it's not within my ~ to help you.
▪ through the ~ of
▪
He wants to change the world through the ~ of prayer.
▪ ~s as
▪
a tribute to his ~s as a teacher
▪ ~ of
▪
her ~s of observation
▪
I lost my ~ of speech for a while after the accident.
PHRASES
▪ at the height of your ~s , at the peak of your ~s , at the zenith of your ~s
▪
In 1946 Dalí was at the peak of his ~s.
▪ do all in your ~ , do everything in your ~
▪
He did everything in his ~ to find us somewhere to live.
3 country with influence
ADJECTIVE
▪ great , major
▪ world
▪ foreign
▪ allied , enemy
▪ occupying
▪ victorious
▪ European , Western , etc.
▪
major European ~s such as France and Germany
▪ colonial , imperial , industrial , naval
4 force/strength
ADJECTIVE
▪ awesome , great , real , tremendous
▪
It was a performance of great ~.
▪ raw
▪
the raw ~ of their music
▪ destructive , terrible
▪
the destructive ~ of a hurricane
▪ star ( esp. AmE )
▪
She exudes star ~ whenever she's on screen.
5 energy
ADJECTIVE
▪ full
▪
The plane was still climbing at full ~.
▪ reduced
▪
The transmitter is operating on reduced ~.
▪ electric , electrical , hydroelectric , nuclear , solar , steam , tidal , water , wind
VERB + POWER
▪ generate , produce
▪
They use these streams to generate ~ for the mill.
▪ provide (sb/sth with) , supply (sb/sth with)
▪
This wheel provides the ~ to the cutting machine.
▪ use
▪ harness
▪ turn on
▪ cut off , turn off
POWER + VERB
▪ drive sth , run sth
▪
Wind ~ is used to drive the machinery.
▪ go off , go out ( esp. AmE )
▪
She was in the elevator when the ~ went off.
POWER + NOUN
▪ cable , grid , line , point ( BrE ), source , supply , system
▪ tool
▪
Power tools make many jobs so much easier.
▪ plant , station ( BrE )
▪ worker
▪ cut ( BrE ), failure , outage ( AmE )
▪ consumption
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ for
▪
The generator supplies ~ for lighting,
PHRASES
▪ a source of ~
II.
verb
Power is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑ motor
Power is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ automobile , ↑ engine , ↑ generator , ↑ machine , ↑ mill , ↑ motor