ADJ
- basic, critical, crucial, decisive, essential, fundamental, important, key, main, major, necessary, principal, significant, vital
- dominant
- The promise of tax cuts became the dominant element in the campaign
- considerable, large
- There is a considerable element of danger in her job
- competitive
- There is too much of a competitive element in the sales department
- racial, sexual
- Police say there may have been a racial element to the attacks
VERB + ELEMENT
- be, constitute, form
- contain, have, include, involve
- These rumours do contain an element of truth
- introduce
PREP
- ~ in
- This constitutes one of the key elements in this reform programme
- ~ of
- Practical work will form a major element of the syllabus. There may have been an element of jealousy in her response
VERB + ELEMENT
- brave
- I put on my thick coat ready to brave the elements
- battle (against)
- He told us stories of how he had battled the elements on his mountaineering trips
- be exposed to, be open to
- The place was completely exposed to the elements
- be protected from, be sheltered from
PHRASES
- protection/shelter from the elements