noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
exceptional talent/ability/skill
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He showed exceptional talent even as a youngster.
intellectual development/ability/activity etc
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a job that requires considerable intellectual effort
mixed ability
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a mixed ability group
sb's ability to cope
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The bears' survival will depend on their ability to cope with a changing environment.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
athletic
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She had always been defined by her athletic ability , and without it she was lost.
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Mostly because of his defense and athletic ability , his playing time has increased the last two weeks.
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The researchers estimated Diatryma's athletic ability as quite adequate to catch most of the contemporary mammals.
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In everything from athletic ability to popularity appearance, brains, and clothes, children rank themselves against others.
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Serious cases of pneumonia can leave damaged areas in the lungs which can affect future athletic ability .
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But they are not allowed to make money from their athletic ability or reputation.
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And he has a lot of athletic ability .
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Young Joe possessed minimal athletic ability and was developing into an overweight child.
average
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This sentiment was repeated a few years later by the Newsom Report in relation to average ability working-class adolescents.
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Most of the remainder are in the 40-70 range, with the highest grades reaching almost average mental ability .
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Most students, by definition, will be of average ability , with a smaller number below average.
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There is another approach to the problem of maintaining speed throughout the roll which is used by those of above average ability .
great
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Gould discovered in this hardy, middle-aged explorer, a man of great charm and great ornithological ability .
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He has great ability , and he can really charm you.
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Young women of this age show a high regard for each other's individuality and a greater ability to tolerate differences.
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And both boys and girls with involved fathers demonstrate a greater ability to take initiative and direct themselves.
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His decision encouraged many of us, for he was a man of great integrity as well as ability .
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A lot of times guys with great ability take some plays off.
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He was a man of great energy, ability and ruthlessness.
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They have a great ability to survive in subdued light.
intellectual
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He says he wanted to find out if he had the intellectual ability to complete a degree starting from nothing.
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Almost all of the identified work-inhibited students had average to superior intellectual ability scores.
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Relaxation or withdrawal of treatment before mid-childhood has been associated with a further decline in intellectual ability .
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Only one student had a score that fell below the average range, and most had above-average intellectual ability scores.
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He combined outstanding intellectual ability with a vigorous, highly disciplined, and formidable personality.
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Mills refers to this intellectual ability as a certain flexibility or quality of the mind.
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It is difficult to conceive of such thinking taking place without the growth and development of intellectual ability .
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The issue of intellectual ability is especially important when considering the prevalence of mild dementia.
musical
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The Princess, he declared, was' very accomplished, a very sensitive player and shows great musical ability .
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Because the music is simple, repetitive and easily accessible to all, no great musical ability and no books are required.
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Green was a ready judge of others' musical ability .
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A nation of music lovers mourns ... Despite his lack of musical ability , Gedge became interested in writing songs.
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The growth of instrumental tuition in schools means that large numbers of children with some musical ability are available to be recruited.
natural
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Adam's natural ability impressed Jenny.
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I took it to heart: There was something wrong with me, a natural ability lacking.
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Patients are given highly diluted doses of natural substances which, say practitioners, boost the body's natural healing ability .
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Your natural ability is the thing that should emerge, and if you have been well coached the coaching won't show.
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Your lips have no natural moisturising ability so need frequent application of protective balm or stick.
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He shared her natural ability to understand horses, her insight into how their minds worked.
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He seems to have a natural ability which encourages plants to grow well.
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I had a natural ability to entirely forget the theatre when at home, and viceversa, which was extremely useful.
■ VERB
affect
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Are past ground shakes affecting your ability to build faith for tomorrow?
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A growing body of evidence shows that alcohol molecules directly affect the ability of ion channels to open or close.
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The reduction in distributable reserves may, of course, affect the company's ability to pay future dividends.
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Mineral, vitamin and blood-sugar levels have been repeatedly shown to affect ability to relax.
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It affects the ability to remember, hear, think and reason.
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Losses by candidates he has supported could affect his ability to extend his stay in power as Yugoslav president.
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Conversely, the availability of different types of housing also affects the ability of persons and families forming separate households.
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The county government had seen its operation lose customers and revenue, and this affected its ability to borrow money.
communicate
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It has lost none of its imaginative power or ability to communicate ideas.
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Their ability to communicate unfolds in a sequence of stages, starting between about six months and eighteen months of age.
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They are merely one method of making possible the ability to communicate out of which a community can grow.
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The ability to communicate with the outside world proved to be the key to other, vital sponsorship.
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Teaching is the ability to communicate effectively to the student or pupil, enabling learning to take place.
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Earlier we noted that the ability to communicate could be considered a prerequisite for leadership.
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Important personal traits for funeral directors are composure, tact, and the ability to communicate easily with the public.
control
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It has also shown that they are most effective in situations of crisis because of their ability to initiate and control social interactions.
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This rewarded not production but the ability to control production.
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Morphine and its related narcotics have proved extremely useful in their ability to control pain.
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The ability to control our own fertility gives women choice and timing, as well as improved overall health.
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The other facet of the relationship is the ability to control subordinates.
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Expanded research is needed to better understand these events and enhance our ability to predict and control these infections.
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Instructors can be mistaken about their students' ability to control the initial part properly if one or two launches go well.
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Many people are negative about their ability to control their diet.
cope
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An extravagant signal could be a general statement of a male's ability to cope .
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Meanwhile doubts about the private banks' ability to cope caused mounting worries.
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Yet, as Margaret Donaldson points out, the ability to cope with disembedded tasks is crucial to educational success.
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Services should also aim to enhance the individual's own ability to cope with distress.
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As a result she was renowned for her ability to cope patiently with awkward guests.
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Coral species vary in their ability to cope with sediment.
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It was a combination that destroyed his ability to cope with life, and he sought psychiatric help in 1950.
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It's not only riding skills that count when considering a holiday, but the ability to cope in unfamiliar surroundings.
demonstrate
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His question-answering demonstrated an analytical ability , and respect for the questioner and for his audience.
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Experiments have demonstrated the ability to reproduce classical conditioning phenomena and robot control simulations.
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Reservoirs, wells and canals demonstrate the ability to regulate water supply.
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And both boys and girls with involved fathers demonstrate a greater ability to take initiative and direct themselves.
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By tying knots we demonstrate our knowledge and ability to deal with the powers of the world.
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Compulsory competitive tendering will oblige local authorities to bring in managers who demonstrate their ability to deliver the best services to tenants.
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Morihei Uyeshiba, the founder of aikido, often demonstrated his ability to elude attack in this way.
depend
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Much will depend on the ability of the employer to offer you optimum conditions for job satisfaction.
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Rather, they are relatively more attentive or less attentive depending on their ability to process information in a certain area.
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The F-111s are ageing and their credibility as a deterrent depends upon their ability to penetrate increasingly sophisticated Soviet air defences.
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The ability of the state to resolve these crises would depend on the states ability to raise revenue and mobilise public support.
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However, effectiveness does depend on managers' ability to use the power they have to encourage others to join in.
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The effectiveness of such a legal system depends upon its ability to express the rights, powers and interests of subordinate classes.
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In this volatile atmosphere Thaksin's popularity and freedom of action will depend on his ability to achieve quick results.
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The future - the very lives - of these children depend on our ability to reach them with vaccines and health education.
develop
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By which is meant that they have developed their ability to focus both senses and mind upon a thought process.
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During these years, the child develops the ability to apply logical thought to concrete problems in the present. 4.
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He also developed the ability to sketch as he walked with his pad and pencil.
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I had developed an ability to see things before they occurred.
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This helps to develop empathy - the ability to see things from the other's point of view in addition to one's own.
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And there are few opportunities for students to develop such ability before they enroll in those courses.
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Some species of birds have developed the ability to distinguish between model and mimic and will feed on the imposters.
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She developed an ability that remains as awesome today as ever.
handle
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They admired his ability to handle an awkward bill in a café or fix lodgings for the night.
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With a goal to our life, our ability to bear and handle the discomfort and pain is also increased.
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We will now review evidence on children's ability to handle explanations in each mode.
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Accuracy and the ability to handle responsibility with limited supervision are important.
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It's an alien situation and I question his ability to handle it.
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He has the ability to handle heated situations better than others.
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An ability to handle air-sensitive compounds, although not essential, would be an advantage.
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To her, Roz was uncanny in her ability to perform. handle outrageous situations, do.
improve
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It is a great exercise to improve your ability to play to length.
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Some tanks had a cutter bar mounted in front to improve their ability to move through jungle.
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Martin learned to drive as his Skill project and improved on his swimming ability in the Physical Recreation section.
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But he noted that federal agencies are working to improve their ability to predict space weather storms.
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To increase the number of errors can sometimes improve the ability to respond to a challenge.
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If you would like to improve your public-speaking ability join Toast-masters International.
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Being well-dressed doesn't improve a person's ability to do accounts, or whatever.
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Keeping hydrated improves the body's ability to trap and neutralize those microbes before they can gain a foothold.
limit
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Capacity and other resource constraints which may limit the target's ability to respond to increases in demand.
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Rule-based computers are limited in their ability to accommodate inaccuracies or fuzzy information.
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This may limit the ability of these hospitals to meet their pledges of maximum inpatient waiting times of two years.
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Some programs also offer users a limited ability to decide for themselves which sites to block.
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Conceptual factors are those which limit our ability to draw conclusions from experiments, even if they are technically perfect.
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Also, there are only two zoom levels, which limit your ability to view a particular area.
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But others want to limit Washington's ability to buy its way out of its domestic obligations.
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It also limits the ability of agency heads to compete successfully for high-skilled senior talent.
lose
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With sufficient training, however, both stimuli will lose the ability to evoke attention.
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Once your groin gets the upper hand, you lose the ability to reason.
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Largely as a result, they had lost the ability to construct complex and resonant narratives.
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And, more important, the military certainly has not lost its ability to fight and win wars because adultery is prohibited.
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If you are low in stamina you will have lost your ability to get through the day without becoming over-tired.
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Martha was alone with her husband as his paralysis spread, and as he lost the ability to swallow.
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Damp affects down particularly badly causing the fluffy tendrils to clog together and lose the ability to insulate.
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With them, the human race lost its ability to send astronauts to the Moon and beyond.
pay
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Neither is fair, in the sense of being related to income, and thus ability to pay .
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In the other; her ability to focus and pay attention is very strong.
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It is not targeted at those in greatest need, because ability to pay will not be a factor.
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But the ability to pay for safety nets is just one of the social effects of having an educated population.
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The reduction in distributable reserves may, of course, affect the company's ability to pay future dividends.
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It was the introduction of the new fourth resource which clearly injected the principle of ability to pay across all countries.
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They are what economists call a rent, a surplus determined by our ability to pay .
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Aside from those who can pay cash, ability to pay is an amalgam of income and mortgage interest rates.
produce
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Particularly helpful is the ability to produce slick roughs, illustrating an idea or a copy line.
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The promise of hypertext lies in its ability to produce large, complex, richly connected, and cross-referenced bodies of information.
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Accuracy and steadiness under pressure are more important than the ability to produce the odd unplayable ball.
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The ability to produce in greater quantities made this system wasteful and it has given way to a more scientific process.
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For example, the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis has the ability to produce crystalline spores which act as natural insecticides.
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Consequently, Muir believes, biotech fish could quickly decimate a fish population by their increased ability to produce damaged young.
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Education may enhance the ability to produce justifications, rather than eliminate racism toutcourt.
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Students often find that their ability to produce language which is appropriate for a particular situation is less than they had expected.
provide
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Their ability to provide such capital may however be limited, and therefore high profits will be sought.
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In the past, local hotlines have to the best of their ability provided only a patchwork quilt of assistance.
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They have developed an ability to provide a chemical service to customers, rather than selling products in a bag.
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Some people just seem to know, to have a grasp, and the ability to provide vision.
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If this results in objections it may affect our ability to provide a shelter.
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But they no longer define being a good father almost exclusively in terms of the ability to provide economically.
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If our energy is not used, then our body's ability to provide energy is also lost.
reduce
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And it can reduce the business's ability to meet its commitments.
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Besides increased miscarriage risk, the UC-Davis study also found a reduced ability to get pregnant linked to glycol ethers.
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Although the mite rarely kills bees, it weakens and deforms them, reducing their ability to make honey.
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Ill health can reduce the individual's ability to move due to motor or nervous problems.
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Spontaneous resolution is likely to reduce the ability of any trial to show differences in the effect of treatment.
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One person's reception of them does not reduce the ability of others to receive them.
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This would reduce the ability of the living world to take up carbon dioxide.
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He complained that it reduced his ability to walk around which was already somewhat restricted by arthritis.
show
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We can expect such systems to show varying degrees of ability to acclimatize.
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We have not shown the ability to sell 15, 000-seat shows on a consistent basis.
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In fact the anti-gold mining struggle has shown an ability to utilize a wide variety of cultural weapons in its campaign.
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Gagne has shown an ability to play through pain.
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He also showed marked ability as a conductor with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and as a composer.
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Mineral, vitamin and blood-sugar levels have been repeatedly shown to affect ability to relax.
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Uwaezuoke shows ability as a punt returner.
understand
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The ability to understand the policy implications of research projects is a must.
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With the infusion of resources into cancer research came an explosion in our ability to understand and manipulate the cancer cell.
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While age is clearly a highly relevant factor it does not always accurately reflect ability to understand .
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The first three chapters are concerned with various aspects of children's ability to understand language.
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He shared her natural ability to understand horses, her insight into how their minds worked.
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Our technical ability to make things and to pollute now far outstrips our ability to understand the processes we have unleashed.
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Strengthened by his ability to understand the phenomenon of sound, early man became conscious of the creative power inherent in it.
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Or whether mutually to reinforce their ability to perceive and understand this city - two viewpoints yielding a stereoscopic perspective.
work
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Finally, appraisal procedures must be established which monitor and enhance the individual's ability to work to maximum effectiveness.
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They say she was also impressed with his ability to work with others.
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A strong background in quantitative analysis, careful attention to detail and an ability to work to tight deadlines are essential skills.
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In poor families, the ability to work and to earn income is usually the only asset people have.
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However, when both have felt threatened by developments in the Middle East they have demonstrated their ability to work together.
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More specifically, the ability to work with people.
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The first thing, therefore, is to believe in yourself and in your ability to work with numbers.
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Employees who work off-site are evaluated on their ability to work independently yet communicate with their team to meet goals.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
to the best of your knowledge/belief/ability etc
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Even children of above-average ability are not always ready to begin school.
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leadership ability
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Luckily, she had innate ability to judge people quickly and accurately.
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Maria will be a fine musician; she shows a lot of ability .
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No one doubts his ability to get work done quickly.
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Our ability to think and speak makes us different from other animals.
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The children are divided into groups according to their reading ability .
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The course material depends on the level of ability of the student.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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But her colleagues and superiors could not fault her dedication to the job, speaking highly of her nursing ability .
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Communism failed and capitalism will falter if we do not give people the ability to make their dreams come true.
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For the regime, the fact that it presided over a cowed, debilitated populace enhanced its ability to remain in power.
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I think that a compelling vision combined with a unique ability to manage risk is the magic behind successful entrepreneurs.
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Indeed, the use of electronic documentation systems should enhance a organisation's ability to maintain full and accurate records.
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Stepping is a structured exercise class with an ability level for everyone.
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You have been given the ability to recognise your own apprehensions, to accept them and then to let them go.