I.
noun
1 sth that you say/write/do as a reply
ADJECTIVE
▪ brief , one-word , quick , short
▪
The short ~ to your question is that he has acted completely illegally.
▪ blunt , direct , straight , straightforward
▪
I expect a straight ~ to a straight question.
▪ clear
▪ detailed , full , precise
▪ definite
▪
I cannot give you a definite ~ just yet.
▪ immediate
▪ final
▪ affirmative , positive
▪ negative
▪ honest , truthful
▪ serious
▪ real , reasonable , satisfactory , sensible
▪ unclear , vague
VERB + ANSWER
▪ get , have , receive
▪
Did you ever get an ~ to your letter?
▪ demand , want
▪
I want some ~s before I agree to anything.
▪ need
▪ await , wait for
▪ expect
▪
He was clearly expecting a different ~.
▪ deserve
▪
The question deserves a proper ~.
▪ give sb , offer , provide , supply
▪
Please give her your ~, so she can make the necessary arrangements.
▪
We can provide ~s to any questions you may have about the system.
▪ formulate
▪
I struggled to formulate an ~.
▪ guess , know
▪
I think you can guess the answer—they won't lend us the money.
▪ dread , fear
▪
‘Is it true?’ she asked, dreading the ~.
▪ hear
▪
He left without waiting to hear her ~.
ANSWER + VERB
▪ come
▪
She pounded on the door, but no ~ came.
PREPOSITION
▪ in ~ to
▪
In ~ to your question, I can only say that we did not find her work of a satisfactory standard.
▪ ~ to
▪
her ~ to his question
2 solution to a problem
ADJECTIVE
▪ easy , instant , pat , ready , simple , straightforward
▪
There are no easy, pat ~s.
▪ clear , clear-cut , obvious
▪
The obvious ~ would be to cancel the party.
▪ logical , plausible , reasonable , sensible
▪ adequate , real , satisfactory
▪ complete , convincing , definitive , effective , good , perfect
▪ long-term
▪ partial
VERB + ANSWER
▪ have , know
▪
We are aware of this problem, but we do not have the ~.
▪ look for , seek
▪ arrive at , come up with , discover , find
▪
We have arrived at an ~ which we hope will satisfy everyone.
▪ give sb , offer , provide , suggest , yield
▪
If you really want to save time, this machine will provide the ~.
ANSWER + VERB
▪ come to sb
▪
The ~ came to him in a flash.
▪ depend on sth , lie in sth
▪
The ~ lies in a combination of factors.
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ to
▪
There is no easy ~ to the problem.
PHRASES
▪ have all the ~s , know all the ~s
▪
He's so arrogant, he thinks he knows all the ~s.
3 to questions in a test/competition
ADJECTIVE
▪ acceptable , appropriate , correct , right
▪ incorrect , wrong
▪ written
▪
This part of the exam requires a written ~.
▪ long , short (both esp. AmE )
▪
the short-answer section of the test
VERB + ANSWER
▪ give , submit
▪ guess
▪
It's not worth guessing the ~, as you may lose points.
▪ know
▪ find
▪
The students are allowed to use textbooks to find the right ~.
▪ print , write
▪
Please print the ~s to questions 1 and 2.
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ to
▪
Do you know the ~ to the question?
II.
verb
ADVERB
▪ affirmatively , in the affirmative
▪
She ~ed in the affirmative.
▪ in the negative , negatively
▪ honestly , truthfully
▪
He tried to ~ as honestly as he could.
▪ correctly
▪ fully
▪
What he told me does not fully ~ the question of what his motives were.
▪ satisfactorily
▪ evasively , vaguely ( esp. AmE )
▪ confidently , firmly
▪ immediately , promptly , quickly
▪ finally
▪ hesitantly ( esp. AmE ), nervously , slowly
▪ coldly , coolly , curtly , shortly
▪ bluntly , flatly
▪ calmly , matter-of-factly
▪ quietly , softly
▪ simply
▪
She ~ed simply, ‘No.’
▪ drily , sarcastically
▪ politely
▪ casually , nonchalantly
▪ cheerfully
▪ sheepishly
Answer is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑ voice
Answer is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ ad , ↑ advert , ↑ advertisement , ↑ allegation , ↑ bell , ↑ call , ↑ challenge , ↑ charge , ↑ correspondence , ↑ critic , ↑ criticism , ↑ door , ↑ doorbell , ↑ email , ↑ enquiry , ↑ knock , ↑ letter , ↑ mail , ↑ objection , ↑ phone , ↑ prayer , ↑ query , ↑ question , ↑ request , ↑ summons , ↑ telephone , ↑ yes