ADJ
- high
- low, poor
- minimum
- acceptable, adequate, decent, proper, reasonable
- We must ensure proper standards of care for the elderly
- improved, rising
- clear
- objective
- Judged by any objective standards, the campaign was a disaster
- official, required
- conventional, usual
- consistent, uniform, universal
- exacting, rigorous, strict, stringent
- professional
- The work has been done to a professional standard
- international, national
- quality
- We have to try and achieve the quality standards set by the project
- qualifying
- The Olympic qualifying standard has been set at 64.50m
- living
- The region enjoys the highest living standards in Europe
- accounting, advertising, safety, trading, etc.
- academic, educational, environmental, health, intellectual, technical, etc.
VERB + STANDARD
- have
- The agency has very high standards
- boast, enjoy
- define, establish, set
- achieve, meet, reach
- The factory is struggling to meet national environmental standards. She has reached an acceptable standard of English
- fall short of
- The hotel service fell short of the usual standard
- apply, enforce, provide
- It's impossible to apply the same academic standards across the country
- judge sb/sth by
- improve, raise
- lower
- maintain, sustain
PREP
- above/below (the) ~
- Your work is below standard
- by … standards
- By modern standards, he isn't a particularly fast runner
- to a … ~
- The building work had not been completed to a satisfactory standard
- up to ~
- We need to bring our computer system up to standard
- ~ in
- standards in safety
PHRASES
- by any standard
- She's a great violinist by any standard
- a drop/fall in the standard, an increase/a rise in the standard
- There has been an increase in the standard of service provided
- a standard of living
- the fall in their standard of living caused by redundancy
ADJ
- declining, falling
- My grandparents are always complaining about falling moral standards
- double
- the double standard frequently encountered in nineteenth-century attitudes to sex
- ethical, moral
VERB + STANDARD
- prescribe
- keep up, maintain
- improve, raise
PHRASES
- standards of behaviour/conduct