- interest
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 desire to learn/hear more about sb/sthADJECTIVE▪ avid, close, considerable, consuming, deep, great, intense, keen, lively, passionate, real, strong▪
The police were starting to take a close interest in the company's activities.
▪She always had a great interest in the supernatural.
▪ particular, special▪ growing, increased, increasing▪ slightest▪He's never shown the slightest interest in football.
▪ little▪ general, widespread▪ current▪ worldwide▪ shared▪ serious▪ genuine▪ abiding, lifelong, long-standing▪ passing▪ sudden▪Why the sudden interest?
▪ renewed▪ added▪The CD-ROM gives the book added interest.
▪ active▪ polite▪He showed a polite interest in her story.
▪ personal▪ professional▪ media▪The event attracted a lot of media interest.
▪ sexualVERB + INTEREST▪ have▪ evince, express, show, take▪My cousin expressed an interest in seeing where I work.
▪ feign▪She feigned interest in a magazine article to avoid meeting the man's stare.
▪ lose▪ arouse, attract, awaken, catch, create, draw, drum up, excite, generate, kindle, pique, spark, stimulate, stir up▪A sticker on a bag caught my interest.
▪The government failed to drum up any public interest in the referendum.
▪A childhood trip to Europe sparked his lifelong interest in history.
▪ develop▪While in prison he developed an interest in art.
▪ increase▪ keep, maintain, sustain▪The film kept my interest throughout.
▪The channel has failed to maintain interest in its expensive new show.
▪ reviveINTEREST + VERB▪ grow▪ flag, wane▪The children's interest began to flag after half an hour of the lesson.
PREPOSITION▪ for interest, out of interest▪I'm asking purely out of interest.
▪ with interest▪They listened with interest.
▪ interest among▪to stimulate interest among teachers
▪ interest from▪growing interest from younger members
▪ interest in▪She took an active interest in their welfare.
2 quality that attracts attentionADJECTIVE▪ great▪ particular, special▪Her comments are of particular interest to me.
▪ little▪ immediate▪This information was of no immediate interest to me.
▪ broad, general, wide▪ architectural, artistic, historic, historical, scientific▪ academic▪Since the championship has already been decided, this game is of purely academic interest.
▪ human▪a plot devoid of human interest
▪ love▪Angelina Jolie supplies the love interest in the movie.
VERB + INTEREST▪ be of▪His books are of no interest to me at all.
▪ hold no▪Their conversation held no interest for me.
▪ add▪Bushes that flower in winter will add interest to your garden.
INTEREST + VERB▪ lie in▪The interest of the painting lies in its unusual use of light.
PREPOSITION▪ of interest▪a building of great architectural interest
3 sth you enjoy doing/learning aboutADJECTIVE▪ diverse, varied, wide, wide-ranging▪ private▪ shared▪ outside▪He has many hobbies and outside interests.
▪ main, primary▪My main research interest is herbal medicine.
▪ artistic, musical, etc.▪ researchVERB + INTEREST▪ have▪ share▪ pursue▪He wanted time to pursue his many and varied musical interests.
4 money earned from investmentsADJECTIVE▪ annual, monthly, etc.▪ compound, simple▪ mortgageVERB + INTEREST▪ earn, receive▪ pay▪ chargeINTEREST + VERB▪ accrue, bearINTEREST + NOUN▪ rate▪ payment▪ chargePREPOSITION▪ interest on▪to pay interest on a loan
PHRASES▪ a rate of interest▪a mortgage with a fixed rate of interest
5 benefits that sth has for sbADJECTIVE▪ best interest (esp. AmE), best interests▪It's not in your best interests to let your boss know you're looking for a new job.
▪I feel it is in everyone's best interest if I step aside now.
▪ own, selfish▪You can't blame them for looking after their own interests. (esp. BrE)
▪ common, mutual, shared▪ competing, conflicting, contradictory▪ long-term, short-term▪ narrow▪Protectionism often simply supports narrow vested interests.
▪ direct▪Lawyers have a direct financial interest in the outcome of the debate.
▪ paramount, vital▪ powerful▪ legitimate▪ vested▪ special (esp. AmE)▪The views of special-interest groups are represented.
▪ national, public▪ class, sectarian, sectional▪ foreign, outside▪ corporate, economic, financial, political, security, strategic, etc.▪issues of compelling strategic interest
VERB + INTEREST▪ defend, guard, look after (esp. BrE), protect, safeguard▪ act in, advance, champion, further, promote, serve▪He claimed to be acting in the public interest.
▪This policy serves the interests of the United States.
▪ represent▪ act against, jeopardize, threatenINTEREST + VERB▪ lie in sth▪ be at stakeINTEREST + NOUN▪ group▪Various interest groups have expressed their opposition to the policy.
PREPOSITION▪ against sb/sth's interest▪The lawyer refused to act against his client's interests.
▪ contrary to sb/sth's interest▪The union refused to support proposals that it saw as contrary to the interests of its members.
▪ in sb/sth's interest (esp. AmE), in sb/sth's interests (esp. BrE)▪Continuing such a policy is short-sighted and not in the interest of consumers.
▪New work practices were introduced in the interests of efficiency.
▪ of interest▪We met to discuss matters of common interest.
▪ out of interest▪He was obviously acting purely out of selfish interest.
PHRASES▪ a conflict of interest, a conflict of interests (esp. BrE)▪One member of the planning committee had a conflict of interest as he lived near the proposed road.
▪ have sb's interests at heart▪Although he was sometimes too strict with his children, he had their best interests at heart.
6 legal right to share in profitsADJECTIVE▪ powerful▪ controlling, majority▪ minority▪ joint▪ banking, business, commercial, shippingVERB + INTEREST▪ have▪He has controlling interests in several ventures.
▪ sellPREPOSITION▪ interest in{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}verbADVERB▪ greatly, particularly, really, very much▪It is this aspect of the work that really interests me.
VERB + INTEREST▪ try to▪She tried to interest the director in her plan.
Interest is used with these nouns as the object: ↑buyer
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
