noun
1 how strong sb/sth is
ADJECTIVE
▪ considerable , enormous , great , immense , incredible , tremendous
▪ high
▪
The material has exceptionally high ~ for its weight.
▪ greater , superior
▪
His superior physical ~ won him the title.
▪ relative
▪
Profits have been helped by the relative ~ of the euro against the dollar.
▪ maximum
▪ growing , increased
▪ new-found
▪ continuing
▪
the continuing ~ of the pound
▪ surprising , unexpected
▪ superhuman , supernatural
▪ brute , sheer
▪
He got the door open with brute ~.
▪ extra
▪
They are reinforced with steel for extra ~.
▪ collective , combined , overall
▪
They believe their combined ~ will overwhelm the competition.
▪ numerical
▪
the numerical ~ of the Chinese army
▪ emotional , inner , mental , spiritual
▪ muscle , muscular , physical
▪ tensile
▪
The steel adds tensile ~ to the concrete.
▪ arm , leg
▪
It's well known that cycling builds leg ~.
▪ lower-body , upper-body
▪ economic , electoral , financial , industrial , military
▪ police , troop , union , etc.
▪
US troop ~ in Afghanistan dropped to 18 000.
▪ bargaining ( esp. BrE )
▪ wind
▪ signal
▪
The phone company aims to improve signal ~ within buildings.
▪ alcoholic
VERB + STRENGTH
▪ have , possess
▪
He had just enough ~ to reach for the phone.
▪ lack
▪ find , muster ( esp. AmE ), summon , summon up
▪
I'm trying to summon up the ~ to do some more work.
▪ draw , draw on , use
▪
She was able to draw on her immense inner ~.
▪ put
▪
He put all his ~ into reorganizing the department.
▪ take
▪
It took all his ~ to open the box.
▪ boost , build , build up , improve , increase
▪
You need to try and build up your ~ before the winter.
▪
I began taking gymnastics classes to boost my ~ and flexibility.
▪ gain , gather
▪
The opinion that the president should stand down has gained considerable ~.
▪ gain in , grow in , increase in
▪ add
▪ conserve , maintain , save
▪ lose
▪ sap
▪
The series of steep hills sapped the cyclists' ~.
▪ get back , recover , regain
▪ give sb/sth , lend sb/sth
▪
Her love and support gave me ~.
▪
The metal reinforcement gives it the ~ to resist the high winds.
▪ reduce , undermine
▪
Her unwillingness to answer questions undermined the ~ of her position.
▪ assess , measure , test
▪
The Moroccan athlete ran a fast lap to test the ~ of the other runners.
▪ underestimate
▪ vary in
▪
These wines vary in ~ between 11% and 15%.
STRENGTH + VERB
▪ grow , increase
▪ decline , drain , drain away , ebb , ebb away , fade , fail , falter , wane
▪
The country's economic ~ is declining.
▪
Her ~ was ebbing fast, so her children were called to her bedside.
▪ return
PREPOSITION
▪ up to ~
▪
The Korean team was not up to ~ for the final.
▪ below ~ , under ~ (both BrE )
▪
The Chilean team was below ~ for the final.
▪ with ~
▪
She pushed him away with unexpected ~.
▪ ~ in
▪
She gradually regained ~ in her legs.
PHRASES
▪ at full ~
▪
The orchestra was at full ~ for the Mahler symphony.
▪ back to full ~
▪
I'm still not quite back to full ~ after my illness.
▪ every ounce of ~
▪
She summoned up every ounce of ~ she possessed.
▪ draw ~ from sth
▪
I draw great ~ from the support of my family.
▪ a feat of ~
▪
He used to entertain people with his feats of ~.
▪ a pillar of ~ , a tower of ~
▪
He was a tower of ~ to his sisters when their father died.
▪ a position of ~
▪
They are negotiating from a position of ~.
▪ reserves of ~
▪
When she had twins, she discovered reserves of ~ that she didn't know she had.
▪ a show of ~
▪
50 000 troops massed on the border in the biggest show of ~ to date.
▪ a source of ~
▪
Her childhood memories were a great source of ~ when her mother was killed.
▪ ~ of character , ~ of purpose , ~ of will
▪ ~ of feeling
▪ the ~ of sb's position
▪ a test of ~ , a trial of ~
▪
Today's vote is being seen as a test of ~ for the government.
▪
The dispute developed into a trial of ~ between management and the union.
▪ with all your ~
▪
She threw the rope with all her ~.
2 useful quality
ADJECTIVE
▪ great
▪
What's your greatest ~?
▪ real
▪ individual , personal , unique
▪ combined
▪ relative
▪
We want to learn more about the relative ~s of our students.
▪ core , key
▪
The company's key ~ is its people.
VERB + STRENGTH
▪ capitalize on ( esp. AmE ), exploit , play to
▪
The team may not have the best players, but it plays to its ~s.
▪ discover , identify
STRENGTH + VERB
▪ come from sth , lie in sth
▪
Her great ~ lies in her flexibility.
PHRASES
▪ ~s and weaknesses