interest noun
1 desire to learn/hear more about sb/sth
ADJ. avid, burning, close, considerable, consuming, deep, great, intense, keen, lively, passionate, strong The police were starting to take a close interest in the company's activities. She always had a great interest in the supernatural. | particular | growing, increasing | slightest He's never shown the slightest interest in football. | general, widespread | worldwide | serious | genuine | abiding, lifelong | passing | renewed | added I'll watch the programme with added interest now I know you're in it. | active | passive | polite He showed a polite interest in her story. | personal | media The event attracted a lot of media interest.
VERB + INTEREST have | evince, express, show, take My cousin expressed an interest in seeing where I work. | feign, simulate She feigned interest in a magazine article to avoid meeting the man's stare. | lose | arouse, attract, awaken, caught, drum up, excite, generate, kindle, spark, stimulate, stir up, whip up A sticker on a bag caught my interest. The government failed to drum up any public interest in the referendum. A childhood journey sparked his lifelong interest in railways. | develop While in prison he developed an interest in art. | maintain, sustain Despite intensive publicity, Channel 4 failed to maintain interest in its expensive new show. | revive
INTEREST + VERB grow | flag, wane The children's interest began to flag after half an hour of the lesson.
PREP. for/out of ~ I'm asking purely out of interest. | with ~ They listened with interest. | ~ among to stimulate interest among teachers | ~ from growing interest from younger members | ~ in She took an active interest in their welfare.
2 quality that attracts attention
ADJ. great | particular Her comments are of particular interest to me. | broad, general, wide | architectural, artistic, historic/historical, scientific | academic Since the championship has already been decided, this match is of purely academic interest. | human a plot devoid of human interest | love Angelina Jolie supplies the love interest in the film.
VERB + INTEREST be of His books are of no interest to me at all. | hold no Their conversation held no interest for me. | add Bushes that flower in winter will add interest to your garden. | supply
INTEREST + VERB lie in The interest of the painting lies in its unusual use of colour.
PREP. of ~ a building of great architectural interest
3 sth you enjoy doing/learning about
ADJ. diverse, varied, wide, wide-ranging | private | artistic, musical, etc.
VERB + INTEREST have | share | pursue He wanted time to pursue his many and varied musical interests.
4 money earned from investments
ADJ. annual, monthly, etc. | compound, simple
VERB + INTEREST earn, make, receive | pay | charge
INTEREST + VERB accrue, bear
INTEREST + NOUN rate | payment | charge
PREP. ~ on to pay interest on a loan
PHRASES a rate of interest a mortgage with a fixed/flexible rate of interest
5 benefits that sth has for sb
ADJ. best It's not in your best interests to let your boss know you're looking for a new job. | self-, selfish | common, mutual | competing, contradictory | long-term, short-term | narrow narrow sectional interests | direct Lawyers have a direct financial interest in the outcome of the debate. | paramount, vital | vested | national, public | class, sectional | foreign, outside | economic, financial, political, strategic, etc.
VERB + INTEREST defend, guard, look after, protect, safeguard | act in, advance, champion, further, promote, serve He claimed to be acting in the public interest. | represent | act against, jeopardize, threaten
INTEREST + VERB lie in sth | be at stake
INTEREST + NOUN group Various interest groups have expressed their opposition to the policy.
PREP. against sb/sth's ~(s) The solicitor refused to act against his client's interests. | contrary to sb/sth's ~ The union refused to support proposals that it saw as contrary to the interests of its members. | in sb/sth's ~(s) New work practices were introduced in the interests of efficiency. | of ~ We met to discuss matters of common interest. | out of ~ He was obviously acting purely out of selfish interest.
PHRASES a conflict of interests One member of the planning committee had a conflict of interests as he lived near the proposed motorway. | have sb's (best) interests at heart Although he was sometimes too strict with his children, he had their best interests at heart.
6 legal right to share in profits
ADJ. powerful | controlling, majority | minority | joint | banking, business, commercial, shipping
VERB + INTEREST have He has controlling interests in several ventures. | sell
PREP. ~ in
interest verb
ADV. greatly, particularly, really, very much It is this aspect of the work that really interests me.
VERB + INTEREST try to She tried to interest the director in her scheme.
You can also check other dicts: interest (English, 中文解释 ), wordnet sense, Collins Definition