ADJ
- central, main, major, primary, prime, principal
- important, special
- greater, increased
- clear, sharp, strong
- The company's restructuring is designed to give a sharper focus on key growth markets
- narrow
- I found the focus of the debate too narrow
VERB + FOCUS
- act as, give sb/sth, provide (sb/sth with), serve as
- Cities have always acted as the principal focus of political life
- change, shift
- At this stage of the trial the defence lawyer often shifts the focus onto the victim
- bring sth into
- This case has brought the problem of drug abuse in schools into sharp focus
- come into
- The question of compensation comes into focus
FOCUS + VERB
- be on sb/sth
- Our primary focus this term will be on group work
- shift
- The focus has now shifted towards the problem of long-term unemployment
PREP
- ~ for
- She became a focus for all his anger
- ~ on
- an increased focus on younger people
PHRASES
- a change/shift of focus, the focus of attention
- He found he was now their main focus of attention
ADJ
- sharp
- soft
- soft focus shots of cuddly animals
VERB + FOCUS
- come into
- When I got glasses suddenly the whole world came into focus (= became clear to see)
PREP
- in ~
- The binoculars were not in focus (= were not showing things clearly)
- out of ~
- The children's faces are badly out of focus (= not clearly shown) in the photograph
ADV
- heavily, largely, mainly, particularly, primarily, principally
- entirely, exclusively, solely
- The study focuses exclusively on secondary schools
- increasingly
- fully
- firmly
- The attention of the news media was firmly focused on the elections
- specifically
- clearly
- directly
- closely, sharply
- narrowly
- initially
- inevitably
- He inevitably focused on his own concerns, with only a passing query about Jeff
- traditionally
- Degree courses have traditionally focused on the established great writers of the past
VERB + FOCUS
- need to
- try to
- decide to
- tend to
- help (to)
- Think of some questions that will help focus the discussion
PREP
- on/upon
- We need to focus upon the main issues
PHRASES
- highly/tightly focused
- The department undertakes highly focused research
- narrowly focused
- The study was criticized for being too narrowly focused
VERB + FOCUS
- try to
- She blinked and tried to focus
PREP
- on/upon
- The eye will automatically focus on the small group in the foreground