verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
complain of a headache (= say that you have a headache )
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Your child may complain of headaches or problems seeing the blackboard.
complain of pain (= say that you have a pain in a part of your body )
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After we finished our run, Tom complained of pains in his chest.
complained bitterly
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He complained bitterly about his exam grades.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
about
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Gray complained about the team's lack of good luck.
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Ugly, yes, but nothing Bob Dole would complain about .
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It has put together a machine with little to complain about .
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In the cases that Keenan complained about , Huckelberry admits changing the decision of the selection committee, but denies any wrongdoing.
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I do not complain about that so far as he is concerned because no doubt it would be an additional and unnecessary expense for him.
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Too many lawyers complain about the sameness of their activity, day to day, month to month.
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The trains are so fast that the passengers complain about not being able to see any of the countries beautiful scenery.
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The 30-foot Fleetwood was immaculate, and we found little to complain about .
always
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Historians have always complained of content overloads in syllabuses and National Curriculum orders are no different.
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My 11-year-old son is always complaining his tummy hurts.
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Ada Gaily complained , had always complained, loud and long and bitterly, against the tenor of her life.
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Why do people always complain about that?
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He is always complaining about having to flog electric storage heaters anyway.
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Ed was always complaining , those last few months.
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The man who shared her apartment was surly, unfriendly, and always complaining about the lifts and the garbage disposal.
bitterly
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The boys gasped, wheezed and giggled; the plumper ones complained bitterly .
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He complained bitterly after being surprised by Pat Buchanan in an early primary about a pollster whose predictions had been too optimistic.
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Student B immediately slams it shut, complaining bitterly of hay fever.
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He complained bitterly of the small attention that was paid to his ideas in his own country.
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Lewis-Ann sat under a huge umbrella, fully clothed, complaining bitterly about being too hot.
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Norah complained bitterly that her style had brought the company free publicity worth far more than it cost.
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And he complains bitterly that exhaustive health tests were not done years ago.
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We all complained bitterly when it looked as though Adobe was restricting the development of PostScript and keeping the market to itself.
never
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I never complained as I went off to watch West Ham that afternoon, having scoffed his portion of chips.
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She has never complained of her arthritis to me-thinks it amounts to nothing beside mine.
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She never complains even when she's not well.
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This was a worker who showed up every day, never complained , you know, gave the job his all.
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But she never complained , nor suggested they should not go.
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People that pay for things never complain .
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Even Zack, who never complained .
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But our viewing choices are not as limited as you might think and our children have never complained of feeling deprived.
often
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Students often complain that nothing has been learned from a particular allocation.
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The private sector often complains about public enterprise, arguing that government should not compete with business.
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Since employees often complain about receiving belated information particular management attention should be given to correct timing.
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Match anglers often complain about bad, or should I say thoughtless, pegging.
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Critics of legal drafting often complain that lawyers are fond of using legal jargon.
■ NOUN
customer
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Sometimes, however, a customer will complain that he has been given incorrect change.
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Fifty to 75 percent of the customers who complain and have their problem resolved would do business with the company again.
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Irate customers who bother to complain to their local water executives will be told the rises are no higher than were forecast.
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About a dozen customers complained to Young of discrimination.
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This tends to support the hypothesis that although customers will complain about price increases it does not necessarily alter their visiting behaviour.
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He points out that customers must first complain to the Tessa provider before lodging a claim with the ombudsman.
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Better to have it from some one you know and respect, rather than have a customer complain .
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I want to encourage such customers to complain and I want us to resolve those complaints quickly. courteously and efficiently.
lack
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The response to mounting criticism is to reorganise or complain of lack of resources.
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Nor did Amelia complain about her lack of money.
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Some have complained about lack of space in just exercising their mounts.
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Investors have complained about a lack of regulation over the Czech capital markets and poor disclosure rules for company information.
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In October a former Minister, Charles Fiterman, withdrew formally from conference preparations, complaining about lack of internal democracy.
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Some park museum directors complain about the lack of priority given their marketing, maintenance and operational needs.
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He snores and she complains about the lack of a good cup of tea.
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Our field stores have been complaining about the lack of responsiveness from the staff.
member
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One member complains about smoking in the chamber.
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There is no water; members are complaining .
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Most House members complain that Baird was rolled too often by the Senate.
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I have curtained the towel service; members are complaining .
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The court hearing system at Bushey isn't operating correctly; members are complaining .
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One Conservative Member complained that ministers tended to dominate on regional programmes, while local Members were squeezed out.
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Several new members complained that their subscriptions had been misused, but nobody running the society bothered to answer the complaints.
noise
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Mrs. Mott had complained of the noise they made going to and fro.
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They have complained about the noise and mess caused by builders working on apartments for the elderly.
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This will also go a long way towards preventing your neighbour complaining about the noise you make.
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All great fun for the flyer but not for those inclined to complain about noise pollution.
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Residents nearby have complained about noise and disturbance late at night.
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These results led the authors to assume that patients were unwilling to complain about noise levels.
pain
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She continued to complain of epigastric pain and flatulence but repeated investigations were negative.
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Two days later, after refusing to eat and complaining of stomach pain , Jimmy was hospitalized.
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Patients may complain of intractable pain in the neck or the back of the head.
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She complains of aching pain and has trouble sitting.
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She hadn't complained about pain after that first night when she insisted on moving in and living with him permanently.
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She went to hospital where she complained of pain in her right shoulder and in the right side of her chest.
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He had a fever and complained about a pain in his right thigh.
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The afflicted person will complain of aches and pains , headache, sore throat, loss of appetite, and general malaise.
people
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It means getting out on the road with the sales people before they complain about call schedules.
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So what makes some people complain their day away?
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At present 68 live in accommodation intended for 55. People living nearby complain that the children are disruptive.
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The noise echoes throughout the usually serene hills surrounding Potrero, but few people are complaining about the commotion.
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You never were, although the slum people were complaining that a monster was preying on them.
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I hear people complaining about their lives and the world.
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Currently, we tend to tolerate diseases and take action only when people start to complain .
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But people complained that the Net has become too congested and slow, and too hard to make a profit on.
woman
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Her husband said the petite woman had complained of fatigue as they plodded up a Canyon trail.
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The report said there was not enough evidence in the case of the other two women who complained .
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I once heard of a woman who complained that all the attractive men in London were gay.
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Women clean house in a kibbutz because, like women everywhere, they complain that men would not do it properly.
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The row started when the woman phoned to complain about comments she believed Snell had made about Ellesmere Port.
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Menopausal women sometimes complain that with the cessation of ovarian function their femaleness is being stripped from them.
■ VERB
begin
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It was not long before they began to complain .
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After a few minutes of running through drills, the girls began to complain of headaches and blurred vision.
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People began to complain about feelings of sickness, vomiting, diarrhoea and headaches.
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Hospitals, project managers revealed the findings of samples taken since tunnel toll takers began complaining early last month of noxious odors.
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He began to complain about Theresa, who was studying for medical school.
hear
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Thirdly, farmers are often heard to complain of a shortage of workers on the land.
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Many years later we would hear her still complaining about this.
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One was heard to complain that there were insufficient Trolls to go round.
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In any case, since there was no reduction in his before-breakfast or after-supper appetites, he never heard her complain .
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They do not want to be heard to complain .
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Did you ever hear the cellphone operators complaining that the early competition adversely affected their business?
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I had heard them complaining of how nauseated they felt, how the very thought of food sickened them.
start
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Wednesday Dad has started complaining about the school holidays early this year.
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But it might be a little early to start complaining .
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I thought I could let a dozen or so through before anyone would start to complain .
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Currently, we tend to tolerate diseases and take action only when people start to complain .
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You might start complaining that all these changes are happening too rapidly for comfort.
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Jacqueline was awake and starting to complain .
write
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In May the Girls would sit out on the steel fire escapes during shows and write home complaining about the unaccustomed heat.
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I am writing to complain about manufacturers who use unnecessary packaging.
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Lots of readers have written in complaining about the lack of uniformity in children's clothes sizes.
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Especially those who wrote in complaining about ish 82 and the new look.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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He constantly complains about how he's treated at work.
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If the hotel isn't satisfactory, you should complain to the Tourist Office.
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Jenny's always complaining that her boss gives her too much work.
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Their neighbours complained about their constant loud music.
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We had to remove the advertisement because so many people complained.
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Workers who had lost their jobs complained bitterly about the way they had been treated.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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But you won't catch me complaining.
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Denise complained bitterly after he died.
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I should have complained about the first case, but I was inexperienced then.
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Many were calling the central office to complain .
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Once at her new work place she complained bitterly of how her style had been cramped.
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The patient complained that she had to void more urine.
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This was a worker who showed up every day, never complained, you know, gave the job his all.