Online OXFORD Collocation Dictionary

state noun

¹ condition

ADJ. acceptable, fit, good, healthy She managed to get the company's finances into a healthy state. | appalling, awful, bad, desperate, dire, dreadful, pitiful, poor, sorry, terrible | run-down We were shocked at the run-down state of the hospital. | emotional, mental, psychological He's not in a fit enough mental state to drive. | physical The inspectors assess the physical state of schools and equipment. | financial | nervous, trance-like He goes into a trance-like state when he plays the guitar. | current, present | former, previous | natural You can either varnish the wood or leave it in its natural state. | constant, continual, continuous, permanent, perpetual The country is in a perpetual state of anarchy. | advanced an advanced state of dehydration

VERB + STATE get into, go into | get sth into

PREP. in a ~ Jane was in a terrible state after losing her job. | into a ~ Babies can cry themselves into a state of frenzy. | ~ of His life seems to be in a constant state of chaos.

PHRASES be in a good/bad, etc. state of repair The house was in a poor state of repair when we bought it. | a state of affairs The brothers' refusal to work together had brought about this sad state of affairs. | a state of emergency The government has declared a state of emergency in the flooded regions. | a state of flux The education system is still in a state of flux following the recent reform. | a state of health He's concerned about his mother's state of health. | a state of mind Public speaking can produce a state of mind akin to panic. | a state of shock The driver was just sitting there in a state of shock. | a state of war

² country/government

ADJ. independent, nation, sovereign | foreign | democratic, one-party, socialist, totalitarian, etc. | member member states of the European Union | powerful, strong | weak | neighbouring

STATE + NOUN enterprise, monopoly | control, ownership The telephone network is still under state control. | property Every citizen could buy shares in privatized state property. | sector, system Teachers in the state sector are asking for a 7% pay rise. schools outside the state system | education, school Did you go to a state school or a private school? | aid, funding, funds, subsidy, support | benefit, pension unemployed people living on state benefit The state pension is barely enough to live on. | intervention large-scale state intervention in industry | spending Some prefer tax cuts to greater state spending on health and social services. | employee | secret He was shot for passing state secrets to foreign powers.

PHRASES affairs/matters of state The president's wife is said to have a powerful hand in affairs of state. | head of state Visiting heads of state usually stay in the palace.

state verb

ADV. clearly, plainly Please state clearly how many tickets you require. | exactly, explicitly, expressly, precisely, specifically These facts were nowhere explicitly stated. | categorically, definitely, positively, unequivocally She stated categorically that she had no intention of leaving. | emphatically, firmly | bluntly, flatly ‘Alcohol doesn't solve problems,’ she stated flatly. | confidently | correctly, rightly | falsely, incorrectly, wrongly | openly, publicly He stated his own views quite openly. | formally, officially | blandly | easily The demands are more easily stated than met. | briefly, succinctly | quietly | just, merely, simply I am merely stating the facts. | repeatedly | previously As previously stated, the phrase ‘value for money’ has an ambiguous meaning.

VERB + STATE go on to The report goes on to state that: … | fail to The committee failed to state their reasons for this decision.

PHRASES stated above/below We cannot accept this proposal for the reasons stated above. | state the obvious At the risk of stating the obvious, people who have not paid cannot be admitted. | unless otherwise stated/unless stated otherwise All the photographs in this book, unless otherwise stated, date from the 1950s.