- role
- noun1 in a play, film/movie, etc.ADJECTIVE▪ lead, leading, starring, title▪
He has the starring role in the movie.
▪She sings the title role in Tosca.
▪ big▪Lee began to get big roles in movies.
▪ principal▪ dramatic▪ meaty, substantial▪the chance to sink her teeth into the meaty role of femme fatale Margaret
▪ plum▪This is the plum role in the play.
▪ small▪ supporting▪ lesser▪ comic, tragic▪ female, male▪a starring female role
▪ cameo▪ stereotypical▪one of his stereotypical action hero roles
▪ thankless▪Ethan Hawke does a solid job in a thankless role.
▪ film (esp. BrE), movie (esp. AmE), television, TVVERB + ROLE▪ assume, perform, play, take▪In the series, Smith assumes the role of the go-between.
▪John's playing the leading role in this year's play.
▪ underplay▪Walken carefully underplays the role.
▪ fill▪The supporting roles are filled by British actors.
▪ reprise▪Most of the original cast are reprising their roles.
▪ handle▪Sbaraglia handles this difficult role well.
▪ get, land, win▪It took her three years to land her first film role.
▪ cast sb in▪ interpret▪She interprets the role as more tragic than I expected.
▪ dance, sing▪Dean Ely sings the title role.
PREPOSITION▪ in the role (of)▪He was very good in the role.
2 position and importanceADJECTIVE▪ big, huge, large, substantial▪Small businesses have a substantial role to play in keeping the economy buoyant.
▪ important, influential, instrumental, integral, powerful, prominent, significant, special▪an area where national rivalries play a powerful role
▪ central, dominant, key, lead, leading, main, major, pivotal, primary▪Migrant workers played a central role in the state's prosperity.
▪ critical, crucial, decisive, essential, fundamental, vital▪Economic factors played a decisive role in the outcome of the war.
▪ useful▪ expanded, greater, increased▪the expanded role of the federal government
▪ diminished, limited, small▪the limited role of women in the church
▪ minor, secondary, subordinate, subservient▪ backup, supporting▪He may have to settle for a backup role.
▪ constructive, full (esp. BrE), meaningful, positive, useful, valuable▪ active, proactive▪ passive▪ direct▪ clear, defined, distinct, exact, particular, specific, unique▪Every member of staff must have a clear role.
▪the specific role of calcium in preventing disease
▪ different, dual, multiple, various▪She has a dual role as principal and French teacher.
▪Many staff perform multiple roles.
▪ traditional▪ changing▪ conflicting▪her conflicting roles as mother and manager of a large company
▪ advisory, consultative, managerial, regulatory, supervisory▪ leadership▪ maternal, parental, parenting, paternal▪ protective▪Their brother plays a protective role.
▪ caregiving (AmE)▪The caregiving role is still overwhelmingly a female one.
▪ economic, educational, military, peacekeeping, political, social, strategic▪the economic role of small towns
▪Adult education often serves an important social role.
▪ symbolic▪ possible, potential▪Supervising elections is a possible role for the UN.
▪ gender▪essays that question gender roles in a patriarchal culture
▪ female, male▪the views prevalent in society about female roles
VERB + ROLE▪ have, occupy, perform, play, serve▪Regional managers occupy a crucial role in developing a strategic framework.
▪ provide▪ provide sb/sth with▪ adopt, assume, take, take on▪I've had to take on the role of mother in her absence.
▪ accept▪I accepted the executive editor role at the magazine.
▪They have to be willing to accept their roles as caregivers and not managers.
▪ resume▪ embrace, relish▪She embraced her role as ruler of the country.
▪ fulfil/fulfill▪The fighting has prevented the UN troops from fulfilling their role as peacekeepers.
▪ fill▪He filled several governmental roles.
▪ handle▪We are waiting to see if he can handle an expanded role.
▪ carve out, establish▪He is trying to carve out a new role for himself.
▪ assign sb, cast sb in, give sb▪He has been cast in the role of chief apologist for the government.
▪ reverse▪Traditional gender roles are reversed in their household.
▪ find▪We need to find a useful role for the volunteers in the campaign.
▪ clarify, define, elucidate, redefine▪a clearly defined role within the group
▪ analyse/analyze, assess, evaluate, examine, explore, investigate▪The paper examines the role of various institutions.
▪ emphasize, highlight, stress▪The authors emphasized the role of the slave trade in the economic development of the New World.
▪ understand▪We need to better understand the role of cold regions in the global climate system.
▪ acknowledge, appreciate, recognize▪Politicians acknowledge the key roles that young people play in the country.
▪ determine, identify▪We will meet with them to determine individual roles.
▪ address▪He addressed the role of tradition in design.
▪ downplay▪Thomas downplays the role of these letters as historical evidence.
▪ expand▪They decided to expand the role that new technologies play at the hospital.
▪ increase, strengthen▪He is looking for ways to strengthen his role in the business.
▪ fit▪I feel I can fit any role this team needs me to.
▪ swap (esp. BrE), switchROLE + NOUN▪ model▪ reversal▪ expectation (esp. AmE)▪methods for exploring gender role expectations
▪ conflict (esp. AmE)▪This role conflict can quickly escalate.
PREPOSITION▪ in a/the role▪She has joined the team in a consultative role.
▪ role as▪the teacher's role as instructor
▪ role at▪He assumed a conspicuous role at the new arts agency.
▪ role for▪The new prime minister promised a greater role for women in government.
▪ role in, role within▪Pressure groups played a major role in bringing about the reforms.
▪the opportunity to assume a leadership role within your organization
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
