ADJ
- absolute, ultimate
- considerable, enormous
- limited
- arbitrary
- economic, legal, legislative, political
- popular
- secular
VERB + POWER
- come to, rise to
- When did this government come to power?
- assume, seize, take
- The Crown prince assumed power in his father's place
- restore sb to, return sb to
- have, hold
- The court has no power to order a psychiatric examination of the child's parents. They held power for 18 years
- share
- exercise, use, wield
- confer, give sb, grant sb
- The new law delegates many of these powers to school governors
- fall from, lose
- They fell from power in 1992
- give up, relinquish, renounce
- delegate, devolve
POWER + VERB
- be concentrated in (the hands of sb/sth), rest with sb/sth
- The real legislative power still rests with the lower chamber
POWER + NOUN
- struggle
- getting the upper hand in a power struggle
- base
- The party's power base is in the industrial north of the country
PREP
- in (your) ~
- the party in power They held us in their power
- ~ of
- the power of veto
- ~ over
- The government has limited legal powers over television
PHRASES
- abuse of power, the balance of power
- The war brought about a shift in the balance of power
- a bid for power, the exercise of power, a position of power
- the father's position of power and influence in the home
- the power behind the throne (= the person who is really in control)
- People say that the prime minister's wife is the power behind the throne
- power-hungry
- The company was too small to hold two such power-hungry men
- a transfer of power
- the transfer of power from a military to a civilian government
ADJ
- air, military, naval, sea
- an increase in Britain's air power
- fire
- weapons with enormous fire power
- bargaining
- computing
- healing
- the healing power of sleep
- earning, purchasing
- staying
- Having served in four governments, he has the greatest staying power of any politician today
- magic, magical, mystical, psychic, supernatural
- They believe he has supernatural powers
VERB + POWER
- have
- use
- develop
- lose
- Religion is rapidly losing its power to shape our behaviour
PREP
- beyond sb/sth's ~
- a task still beyond any computer's power
- in/within your
- I'm afraid it's not within my power to help you
- through the ~ of
- He wants to change the world through the power of prayer
- ~s as
- a tribute to his powers as a teacher
- ~ of
- her powers of observation I lost my power of speech for a while after the accident
PHRASES
- at the height/peak/zenith of your powers
- In 1946 Dali was at the peak of his powers
- do all/everything in your power
- He did everything in his power to find us somewhere to live
ADJ
- great, major
- world
- foreign
- allied, enemy
- occupying
- victorious
- European, Western, etc.
- major European powers such as France and Germany
- colonial, industrial, naval
ADJ
- great
- destructive, terrible
- the destructive power of a hurricane
ADJ
- full
- The plane was still climbing at full power
- reduced
- The transmitter is operating on reduced power
- electric, electrical, hydroelectric, nuclear, solar, steam, tidal, water, wind
VERB + POWER
- generate, produce
- They use these streams to generate power for the mill
- provide (sb/sth with), supply (sb/sth with)
- This wheel provides the power to the cutting machine
- use
- harness
- turn on
- cut off, turn off
POWER + VERB
- drive sth
- Wind power is used to drive the machinery
POWER + NOUN
- cable, line, point, supply
- tool
- DIY grew in popularity with the advent of power tools
- plant, station
- worker
- cut, failure
PREP
- ~ for
- supplying power for the grinding process