- promise
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 statement that you will do sthADJECTIVE▪ big▪
He makes all kinds of big promises he has little intention of keeping.
▪ rash▪ broken, unfulfilled▪ empty, false, hollow▪ vague▪ binding, firm▪ solemn▪ pinky (= made by linking your little finger with another person's) (AmE, informal)▪ campaign, election, pre-election (esp. BrE)▪ brand (= printed on a product) (esp. AmE)VERB + PROMISE▪ give sb, make (sb)▪You gave me your promise I could use the car tonight.
▪I'll consider it, but I make no promises.
▪ hold out▪Organic food seems to hold out the promise of healthy living.
▪ fulfil/fulfill, honour/honor, keep▪ break, go back on▪ extract▪We extracted a promise from them that they would repay the money by May.
▪ hold sb to▪Politicians should be held to their promises.
▪The electorate is determined to hold the government to its election promises.
PROMISE + NOUN▪ ring (= showing sb's promise to be faithful)PREPOSITION▪ promise about▪They've made all sorts of promises about reforming the health system.
▪ promise of▪promises of support
2 signs that sb/sth will be successfulADJECTIVE▪ considerable, enormous, great, real, tremendous▪This new venture holds great promise for the future.
▪ little▪ youthful (esp. BrE)▪ early, initial▪ futureVERB + PROMISE▪ hold, show▪ fulfil/fulfill, live up to▪His career failed to live up to its early promise.
PREPOSITION▪ of promise▪a pianist of promise
▪ promise as▪She showed great promise as a runner.
PHRASES▪ full of promise▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}The year began so full of promise, and ended in disappointment.
verbADVERB▪ faithfully▪She promised faithfully that she would come.
▪ solemnly▪ initially, originally▪ repeatedly▪He repeatedly promised to cut taxes in his campaign.
VERB + PROMISE▪ can▪I can definitely promise you that I'll do all I can to help.
▪ cannot▪I can't promise I'll be there.
▪ seem to▪The plan seemed to promise a new beginning.
PREPOSITION▪ to▪I've promised my old computer to Jane.
PHRASES▪ as promised▪I am sending you information on hotels, as promised.
▪ I can't promise anything▪I can't promise anything, but I hope to have it finished next week.
Promise is used with these nouns as the object: ↑aid, ↑assistance, ↑confidentiality, ↑crackdown, ↑reward, ↑shake-up
Collocations dictionary. 2013.