noun
ADJECTIVE
▪ convincing , credible , good , likely , logical , natural , obvious , plausible , probable , rational
▪
The most likely ~ is that his plane was delayed.
▪ implausible , inadequate , unlikely
▪ acceptable , adequate , reasonable , satisfactory , sufficient
▪ further
▪
No further ~ is necessary.
▪ no apparent
▪
There was no apparent ~ for the attack.
▪ clear , coherent
▪ complete , comprehensive , detailed , full
▪ partial
▪ complex , complicated
▪ easy , simple
▪ innocent , prosaic
▪
There's sure to be a perfectly innocent ~ for all this—though I admit it looks bizarre.
▪ convenient
▪ accepted , traditional
▪
There is no generally accepted ~ of this practice.
▪ official
▪ possible
▪ alternative
▪ correct , real , true
▪ brief
▪ lengthy , long
▪ verbal
▪ general
▪ common
▪
the common ~s for cancer
▪ only , sole
▪
It's the only ~ that makes any kind of sense.
▪ causal
▪
The causal ~ must be that old age causes poverty, not that poverty causes people to be old.
▪ ad hoc
▪ cultural , historical , political , psychological , scientific , sociological , technical , theoretical
VERB + EXPLANATION
▪ have
▪
I had no ~ for her strange mood.
▪ give (sb) , offer (sb) , provide (sb with)
▪
He only offered a partial ~ for his lateness.
▪ go into , launch into
▪
She launched into a detailed ~ of every aspect of her work.
▪ advance , propose , put forward
▪
one ~ advanced by Marxist historians
▪ call for , need , require , want
▪
An ~ is clearly called for.
▪ look for , seek
▪ find , think of
▪
I can think of one possible ~ for her reaction.
▪ ask for , demand
▪
She wrote to the company demanding an ~.
▪ wait for
▪ deserve , merit
▪
I suppose you deserve an ~.
▪ owe sb
▪
I think you owe me an ~.
▪ receive
▪ accept
▪ defy
▪
Her success has been so remarkable as to defy ~.
EXPLANATION + VERB
▪ lie
▪
The simplest ~ for his achievements lies in his greater ability and superiority over his contemporaries at college.
▪ emerge , occur to sb
▪
No single clear ~ emerged from the experiments.
▪
A more credible ~ now occurred to her.
▪ exist
▪
Several possible ~s exist.
▪ suggest sth
PREPOSITION
▪ in ~
▪
‘I've worked with them before, you see,’ he added, in ~.
▪ without ~
▪
She left suddenly and without ~.
▪ ~ about
▪
He entered into a technical ~ about software and programming.
▪ ~ as to
▪
He provided no ~ as to why he was late.
▪ ~ for
▪
There is probably some perfectly logical ~ for their absence.
▪ ~ from
▪
We are still waiting for a full ~ from the teacher concerned.
PHRASES
▪ an attempt at ~
▪
The men left quickly with no attempt at ~.
▪ by way of ~
▪
‘I had to see you,’ he said, by way of ~.