- effort
- noun1 physical/mental energy needed to do sthADJECTIVE▪ considerable▪ hard▪
It took a whole day of hard effort to knock down the wall.
▪ constant, sustained▪ extra▪ minimal▪an outfit which enables you to look good with minimal effort
▪ wasted▪ physical▪ intellectual, mental… OF EFFORT▪ amount▪the amount of effort required
VERB + EFFORT▪ demand, need, require, take▪It takes constant effort to become fluent in a language.
▪ devote, exert, expend, invest, put in▪All the team members have put in a great deal of effort.
▪ waste▪ spare no▪No effort has been spared to make this hotel a welcoming, comfortable place.
▪ be worth▪The walk is difficult but well worth the effort.
EFFORT + VERB▪ go into▪A lot of effort went into making the costumes.
PREPOSITION▪ with effort, without effort▪This can be done quickly and with very little effort.
PHRASES▪ a great deal of effort▪ time and effort▪Senior leaders are investing time and effort in studying the issue.
▪The staff spent considerable time and effort developing a national policy.
2 attempt to do sthADJECTIVE▪ ambitious, big, enormous, great, Herculean, huge, major, massive, remarkable, special, tremendous▪I can see you have made a big effort to clean up.
▪ brave, heroic, superhuman, valiant▪ all-out, concentrated, determined, strenuous, tireless▪ painstaking▪ desperate, frantic▪their frantic efforts to put out the fire
▪ final, last, last-ditch▪The UN General Secretary flew in in a last-ditch effort to save the talks.
▪ continuing, ongoing, sustained▪the continuing effort to find the missing girls
▪ renewed▪ pioneering▪pioneering efforts to restructure the industry
▪ genuine, good-faith (AmE), positive, real, serious, sincere▪Districts have not made a good-faith effort to implement public school choice.
▪ feeble, half-hearted▪She made a feeble effort to smile, then started crying again.
▪ successful▪ worthwhile▪ failed, fruitless, futile, unsuccessful, vain▪ misguided▪ collaborative, collective, combined, concerted, cooperative, coordinated, joint, team▪Students, teachers and families got together in a team effort to decorate the school.
▪ international▪ conscious, deliberate▪I have to make a conscious effort to be polite so early in the morning.
▪ voluntary▪The museum relies on the voluntary efforts of enthusiasts.
▪ diplomatic▪Diplomatic efforts to end the crisis failed.
▪ grass-roots▪a grass-roots effort by workers to transform their country
▪ get-out-the-vote (AmE)▪The Democratic get-out-the-vote effort placed heavy emphasis on the youth vote.
▪ fund-raising, marketing, outreach (esp. AmE), recruitment▪ humanitarian, recovery, relief, rescue▪ anti-terrorism, counterterrorism▪ clean-up, conservation, rebuilding, reconstruction, restorationVERB + EFFORT▪ make▪ initiate, launch▪They launched an AIDS education effort.
▪ mount, undertake▪The report outlines the efforts undertaken by the industry.
▪ fund▪ accelerate, expand, increase, intensify, redouble, renew, step up▪The police have renewed their efforts to find the murderer.
▪ continue▪ channel, concentrate, focus▪The police tried to channel their efforts into searching the forest.
▪ redirect, refocus▪ coordinate, orchestrate, organize▪ combine, pool▪Governments are pooling their efforts to stem international terrorism.
▪ duplicate▪We tried to ensure that efforts were not duplicated.
▪ lead, spearhead▪He spearheaded efforts to raise money for the school.
▪ target▪We're targeting our efforts at making our website appealing to younger people.
▪ fail in▪He failed in his efforts to give up smoking.
▪ resist▪The wound resisted all my efforts to stop it from bleeding.
▪ abandon▪ complicate▪ derail, frustrate, hamper, hinder, impede, sabotage, stymie (informal, esp. AmE), thwart, undermine▪Critics said the plan would undermine efforts to address the current crisis.
▪ be rewarded for, reward▪Her efforts were rewarded when she won an Oscar.
▪ applaud, praise▪The gallery owner applauded the efforts of firefighters to save the exhibits.
▪ appreciate▪We all appreciate your efforts.
▪ oppose, supportEFFORT + VERB▪ come to nothing, fail, fall flat, fall short▪ pay off, succeed, work▪ culminate in sth, produce sth, result in sth▪ be aimed at sth, be targeted at sth, focus on sth▪educational efforts targeted at children from ethnic minorities
▪ earn sb sth▪Her efforts earned her a Nobel Prize.
PREPOSITION▪ in an/your effort▪The club has changed the rules in an effort to make them fairer.
▪ through sb's effort▪Through their efforts, enough money was raised to buy the equipment.
PHRASES▪ your best efforts▪Despite our best efforts, we didn't manage to win the game.
▪ a reward for your efforts▪Second prize was a fair reward for his efforts.
▪ make every effort▪We are making every effort to obtain the release of the hostages.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
