English Words Usage

THOUGHT as "sth that you think" (noun)

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

THOUGHT as "process/act of thinking" (noun)

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

THOUGHT as "ideas" (noun)

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

THOUGHT as "kindness" (noun)

ADJ

kind, kindly, nice: Thank you for the flowers?it was a very kind thought