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general::
noun sth that you think ADJ. comforting, good, happy, pleasant, positive It was a comforting thought that at least her father hadn't suffered. Before going on stage, I breathe deeply and think positive thoughts. | anxious, appalling, awful, bad, black, dark, depressing, disquieting, disturbing, gloomy, negative, sad, sobering, terrible A disturbing thought suddenly struck me. | interesting, intriguing | first, immediate, initial My immediate thought was that he must be joking. | sudden | little | fleeting, passing | conscious | unspoken | waking She occupied all his waking thoughts. VERB + THOUGHT have, think I've just had a thought (= an idea). He remained aloof, thinking his own thoughts. | have Let me have your thoughts on the report. | express, write down | read She often seems to know what I'm thinking, as though she can read my thoughts. | dread, not be able to bear, not like, not relish She said she couldn't bear the thought of living alone in the house. I don't like the thought of you walking home alone. THOUGHT + VERB come/pop into your mind, come to sb, cross your mind, go/flash/pass/race through your mind, hit sb, occur to sb, strike sb The thought crossed my mind that Jim might know the answer. All kinds of thoughts raced through my mind. | ~s turn to sth My thoughts turned to home. PREP. ~ about He lay there thinking gloomy thoughts about life and death. | ~ of The children were overjoyed at the thought of going to the seaside on holiday. | ~ on They asked him what his thoughts were on the government's announcement. PHRASES just a thought Would Mark be able to help? It's just a thought. | keep your thoughts to yourself He's not the kind of man to keep his thoughts to himself. | the mere/very thought of sth The mere thought of lice makes my head itch. | push/put the thought aside/away, push the thought from/out of your mind process/act of thinking ADJ. careful, proper | deep, profound She is known for her deep thought and intellectual ways. | coherent He was so upset, he was incapable of coherent thought. | logical, rational | analytical, critical | abstract | creative | free, independent | conscious My job is so repetitive, it does not require much conscious thought. | fresh We have to give the matter fresh thought. | second I accepted the offer without a second thought. VERB + THOUGHT give sb/sth, spare (sb) I've given the matter careful thought. Don't give it another thought (= to tell sb not to worry after they have said they are sorry). Spare a thought for us?we'll be working through the night to finish the report. | direct, turn I tried to turn my thoughts to pleasanter things. | provoke The article was intended to provoke thought. | be deep in, be lost in She was deep in thought and didn't hear me call her. THOUGHT + VERB go into sth Not enough thought has gone into this essay. THOUGHT + NOUN pattern, process I couldn't see what thought processes led him to that conclusion. PREP. without ~ They had acted rashly, without thought. PHRASES after a moment's thought After a moment's thought, I accepted his offer. | freedom of thought The constitution guarantees freedom of thought and belief. | a line/mode/train of thought That line of thought can only lead to one conclusion. He hesitated, as though he had lost his train of thought. | thought-provoking There was a thought-provoking article about poverty in the paper. | with no thought for sth He ran into the burning house with no thought for his own life. ideas ADJ. modern | 19th-century, etc. | Eastern, Western | intellectual, philosophical, scientific | economic, political | feminist, liberal, socialist, etc. PHRASES a school of thought They belong to different schools of thought. | a strand of thought three different strands of scientific thought kindness ADJ. kind, kindly, nice Thank you for the flowers?it was a very kind thought.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary