noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a compromise solution/agreement
▪ The president was under increasing pressure to reach a compromise solution with his political opponents.
a peaceful solution/resolution/settlement
▪ The authorities want a peaceful solution to the hostage crisis.
a political solution
▪ They are eager for a political solution after years of war.
a realistic solution
▪ Compromise is the only realistic solution.
a solution to a dilemma (=a way to solve it)
▪ One possible solution to the dilemma may be to divide the money equally betweeen the brothers.
a viable solution
▪ Perhaps the only viable solution is to merge the hospitals.
an effective solution
▪ The most effective solution to traffic congestion is to build more roads.
creative solution
▪ a creative solution to the problem
devise a solution
▪ Representatives met to discuss the crisis and devise solutions.
long-term plan/strategy/solution
wetting solution
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
creative
▪ Yet the world we live in cries out for more critical and creative solutions to many, pressing problems.
▪ One creative solution: workers were issued coveralls without pockets.
▪ Look for the more creative solution - the tried and true don't always bring the best results.
▪ Subsequently the highly rated manager develops creative solutions and provides new insights into problems.
▪ Or an end to racial oppression? Creative solutions to our ecological problems?
▪ What matters is that the creative solution has a credible and realistic basis.
easy
▪ There is no easy solution to the education versus training argument in nursing.
▪ Fortunately, there is an easy solution to the problem.
▪ Instinctively, it seemed that there must be an easy solution to a prob-lem made of mud.
▪ It is easy enough to point out what is wrong with Hong Kong environmentally but far from easy to find solutions.
▪ It offers no easy or cheap solution.
▪ There was no easy solution to these problems but a number of alternatives could be considered.
final
▪ The final cacheing solution is hardware based, and relies on cacheing controllers.
▪ But unchecked, she seeks total victory and final solutions.
▪ Clearly, the difference between the original proposals put forward in the White Paper and the final solution in 1977 is enormous.
▪ My final solution to the problem was a bit risky, but not as risky as the alternatives - or so I thought!
▪ Logic and precision are put aside and the final solution is more important than the steps which lead to it.
▪ This is the nature of sciences and pseudo-sciences, always striving for a set of rules and final solutions.
▪ The final solution to the problem of the restraint of beasts.
good
▪ We in Lothian have had problems with barrier design, and the best solution I know of is the design enclosed.
▪ But for many people, the best solution may be a combination of tax software and professional help.
▪ The best solution would seem to be the creation of start-up workshops for small businesses.
▪ The best solution: Shift the focus on to a different actor.
▪ The best solution may be to leave them with the society.
▪ There is only one good solution to capital flight: shaky governments must restore confidence by adopting sensible policies.
▪ A better solution may well be to pick up the idea of rotating the audit partner every five to 10 years.
▪ The best solution is to siphon off the discolored water and store it in the dark for a couple of weeks.
ideal
▪ Delegates were generally agreed that the ideal solution was to remove migrants' reasons for wanting to leave.
▪ The Generalísimo, however, was not convinced that this was the ideal solution.
▪ In those days married women didn't work, so for her it was the ideal solution.
▪ No ideal solution to this problem has been found.
▪ While the ideal solution is a fast 486 computer there are a lot of 386 machines still performing sterling service.
▪ This split barrier is an ideal solution for keeping out undesirables such as motorbikes while giving room for wheelchairs to pass through easily.
▪ The ideal solution would be to use such people as software testers but the world isn't that well organised!
▪ Though Hunt was grateful, this was hardly an ideal solution.
obvious
▪ Even as this problem forms itself in my head it is superseded by its very simple and obvious solution.
▪ Even though the problem is obvious, the solutions are not.
▪ A single system for all seemed an obvious solution to such problems.
▪ The obvious solution to this word-wilting dilemma is to relax.
▪ Retirement at 63 is the obvious compromise solution.
▪ There is one obvious solution to slow play that seems to be overlooked: Distance tee-times to ease course overcrowding.
▪ The obvious solution - to move into more capital-intensive highly skilled work - is being energetically pursued.
▪ But don't opt for the obvious solution: cutting the stuff into stunted threads is practised only by the infantile.
only
▪ The only truly satisfactory solution would be to pull the place down and start again.
▪ I know this sounds terrible but sometimes it's the only solution I can see.
▪ But flooring need not cost the earth; nor is carpeting the only solution.
▪ The current slipway is beyond economic repair and a new structure is the only solution.
▪ A change of lender is the only solution.
▪ The only solution lies north of the Border - with you.
▪ The only solution I can see is in future to save any pattern of this sort as a variety of widths.
▪ I was convinced, and did not afterwards look back, that the only solution would be a bold one.
optimal
▪ This seems to be the optimal solution for the male.
▪ This gives Table 10.1, so the optimal solution is still but the optimal value is.
▪ The optimal solution does not change but the optimal tableau has one less column.
▪ The reader can verify that this optimal solution is.
▪ When the equality is exactly satisfied, either inequality can be used but the optimal solution will not change.
▪ In this chapter, we will study the effect of changes in the data on the optimal solution.
▪ Thus March and Simon accept that bureaucrats will not necessarily seek the optimal solution, but that which satisfies.
▪ Thus, we will eventually achieve an optimal feasible solution.
peaceful
▪ But people like Shakiri do not believe there can be a peaceful solution to the crisis.
▪ There are peaceful solutions to accommodating both smokers and nonsmokers.
▪ A peaceful solution is far from assured, however.
▪ That is not going to help to bring about a just and peaceful solution to the problem.
▪ Without a regional focus, inclusive of all ethnic groups, there is little chance for a peaceful solution.
perfect
▪ It seemed to be the perfect solution - contraception without constraining the fountain of male pleasure.
▪ Even if a perfect solution is not found, the child goes from being passive to planning a strategy and eventually acting.
▪ Sensitive skins need the gentle touch - Moistura fragrance Free products from Cyclax provide the perfect solution.
▪ There are no perfect solutions in a world where most parents work and most kids get sick.
▪ Alternet is the perfect solution for 10BaseT users who want the flexibility that thin coax provides.
▪ They did a lot of research, and found what they felt were perfect housing solutions.
▪ A mix of black and gold separates is a perfect solution.
▪ No doubt the perfect solution is to fly down in your own plane.
political
▪ Voice over It's got to be a political solution.
▪ Chun had put his sword back into the scabbard and turned to a political solution.
▪ But the political solutions which he advocated in the 1930s were not so.
▪ Social pathologies abound, yet people are peacefully pursuing political solutions to the myriad problems.
▪ It was not the first time that sensible political solutions had been rejected.
▪ Any political solution presupposes that the fate of prisoners must be settled.
▪ The prime minister, Chandra Shekhar, has said repeatedly that he wants a political solution.
possible
▪ It is usually the responsibility of the engineer to approve the alternative offered by the contractor or to suggest a possible solution.
▪ The foundation organized thousands of town meetings around the country to pulse people on public policy issues and possible solutions.
▪ Recent advances in methodology offer several possible solutions to this problem.
▪ If a system does not work for some speakers, there are several possible solutions.
▪ And high levels of debt offered one possible solution to problems of how to discipline managers.
▪ Free television time is one possible solution.
▪ One possible solution is for the last step in the procedure to be the subject of a strict time limit.
▪ The survey said one possible solution to the problem might be the use of city pension funds to create a loan program.
practical
▪ Provided the room is big enough, room divider doors are a practical solution and can be an attractive feature.
▪ Sometimes this shared understanding may lead to more practical solutions.
▪ Odeneal was swayed by the eloquence and truth of Joseph's argument, and submitted a practical solution.
▪ They do not offer practical solutions.
▪ Mr Holt is keen to find a practical solution to better protect the environment.
▪ These two sides would slug it out, and a practical solution would emerge somewhere between the two positions.
▪ In itself this elusiveness is testimony to just how enormously difficult it is to find practical solutions to Britain's economic problems.
▪ The search continues for a practical solution.
simple
▪ Elaborate solution, depending on smoothness: This keeps the same set R as the simple solution.
▪ There is no single, simple solution.
▪ Problem solving: This is almost exactly as in the simple solution.
▪ There is a simple solution that would correct these inequities and still protect homeowners from excessive taxation.
▪ This is often a far simpler and cheaper solution.
▪ I will really hate to be told of some simple, logical solution which I might have spotted.
▪ Even as this problem forms itself in my head it is superseded by its very simple and obvious solution.
▪ They never have a simple solution.
well
▪ Argument means resolving differences by discussion; this can encourage integration of a number of viewpoints into a better solution.
▪ A better solution is for automakers to develop air bags that inflate more slowly, lessening the risk of injury.
▪ Renting may not be better solution than home purchase.
▪ This is an area where private decision-making is a much better solution.
▪ A better solution may well be to pick up the idea of rotating the audit partner every five to 10 years.
▪ A better solution is adding a second disk drive, or replacing your original.
▪ A better solution perhaps is to leave the pad out of the filter altogether only using it when necessary.
▪ Some scientists believe stem cell research may provide a better solution.
■ VERB
arrive
▪ However, the parties involved were prepared to have their heads hit together to arrive at a solution.
▪ In this way, she arrived at her solution.
▪ In such a case, some form of conflict resolution must be adopted to arrive at a solution.
▪ Now, she thought, now we shall get things done, sort things out, arrive at a solution.
find
▪ If they're really upset, acknowledge this and try to find a solution.
▪ He had discussed this throughout his first year but had found no solution.
▪ Given the correct support and information, they could themselves find solutions to many problems.
▪ They established a committee to meet with DeGrazia to try to find solutions both sides could support.
▪ Too fussy. Find another solution, wrote Harsnet.
▪ Diplomatically, he placed the burden of responsibility on the state officials, calling upon them to find solutions.
▪ The Occupational Therapist is there to try and help you find a solution to your problem.
▪ His knowledge of mathematics proved inadequate to find a solution.
obtain
▪ The knowledge obtained from solutions that are put into the eye for other purposes is considerably valuable.
▪ Whatever happens, either we obtain an efficient solution or we can deduce that there are no efficient solutions.
▪ We have thus obtained our solution, in this case, in one step.
▪ He agreed to go to Rome himself to try to obtain an acceptable solution.
▪ The scheme yields only a theoretical solution, from which the number of patterns can be obtained.
▪ Their curvatures can only be obtained rigorously from the solution of Einstein's equation.
▪ However, they may be combined with some other method to obtain such solutions.
▪ Consequently there have been fewer serious efforts towards obtaining effective solutions.
offer
▪ The fax modem offers an affordable solution to many of the conventional fax machine's shortcomings.
▪ More than half the builders offered other solutions to the fee problem.
▪ But it hardly offers a long-term solution to the problem of resource depletion.
▪ The speech addressed problems often discussed by President Clinton, but offered some starkly different solutions.
▪ Those planning to enter public relations in the future will not be able to offer superficial solutions or thinking to any client.
▪ A balanced budget amendment is often offered as a solution.
▪ But London offered a solution not available elsewhere and particularly appealing to a young man of his temperament.
▪ In a leaderless group, a manager might step in to end the conflict and even offer a solution.
propose
▪ Some of our economists are proposing the same solutions.
▪ There is a lot of agreement for many of the issues, though a lot of differences in proposed solutions.
▪ Meanwhile, worried scientists have moved beyond offering proof of the ill effects of human activity to proposing solutions.
▪ Despite a briefcase thick with proposed solutions, no plan has been implemented.
▪ So far, feminists have mainly proposed numerical solutions to these imbalances, treating the categories as equivalent and autonomous.
▪ Most proposed solutions to the funds' problems involve limiting the benefits of current recipients in some way.
▪ Falsifiable hypotheses are proposed by scientists as solutions to the problem.
▪ In both cases, senior management looked on the proposed solution as unworkable at best, and, at worst, subversive.
provide
▪ The benefits established does the book provide the blueprint solution?
▪ Odds are, neither this book nor any other source of information will provide a solution to your work problem.
▪ This provides a weak solution but takes the patient through to the next potency level in only 7-8 days.
▪ A: Strengthening the courts and providing a solution for former soldiers, both from the Sandinista Army and the counterinsurgency.
▪ Open learning provides a flexible solution to many of those problems.
▪ But rather than providing a solution, their results just added more fuel to the fire.
▪ The Automobile Association has now provided one solution.
▪ It is by no means easy to resolve such issues, and we can provide no firm solutions here.
require
▪ The first step is to recognise the diversity and complexity of public organisations which require different managerial solutions.
▪ Increasingly, federal officials were defining the problems of urban areas as local problems requiring local solutions.
▪ It is important, however, to recognise that this is a global problem which requires a global solution.
▪ But the disabilities act, they said, sometimes requires unnecessarily expensive solutions.
▪ Only Daeria was recognised as requiring the lobon-gur solution or intra-venous fluid therapy.
▪ Problems that require solutions are fast-moving and complex, and growing more so every day.
▪ Each junction requires its own solution or compromise and seldom, it was argued, is today's solution the best one.
▪ Our tendency to create heroes rarely jibes with the reality that most nontrivial problems require collective solutions.
seek
▪ Encourage the subordinate gently to seek solutions and propose action.
▪ Let's seek solutions and not encourage conflict.
▪ Companies should cooperate with couples in seeking solutions, Levinson advises.
▪ Perhaps the time has come when we should humbly admit our limitations and seek solutions in co-operation with the Master Plan.
▪ Afterward, the two sides may create a bipartisan panel to seek a longer term solution.
▪ Thus March and Simon accept that bureaucrats will not necessarily seek the optimal solution, but that which satisfies.
▪ If you start removing paper and the plaster finish comes off, you may want to seek another solution.
suggest
▪ It is usually the responsibility of the engineer to approve the alternative offered by the contractor or to suggest a possible solution.
▪ Answerable only to the president, they will suggest solutions to the ministries concerned and ensure they get results.
▪ The warring factions are suggesting drastically different solutions to the crisis.
▪ It is suggested that the best solution is to combine both methods.
▪ Betsy suggested that the best solution to the problem would be for her to take over command of Clytus and continue trading.
▪ Moreover we are not qualified to suggest any solutions to this problem - that must be a job for educationists.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
arrive at a decision/solution/compromise etc
▪ He arrived at a decision, threw the cigarette away, and turned towards a small depressing row of agricultural cottages.
▪ He finally arrived at a compromise with her, which was that he could have three independent, non-civil servant, advisers.
▪ However, the parties involved were prepared to have their heads hit together to arrive at a solution.
▪ In such a case, some form of conflict resolution must be adopted to arrive at a solution.
▪ My colleagues and I, after much consideration have arrived at a decision.
▪ Now, she thought, now we shall get things done, sort things out, arrive at a solution.
▪ They spent time arriving at a decision on the correct software.
▪ Using committees internally to overcome restrictions on information and thereby arrive at a decision.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ A dentist could put in a temporary filling, but that's not the perfect solution.
▪ It was a difficult equation, but it took her only five minutes to work out the solution.
▪ Make a salt solution by dissolving 9 tablespoonfuls of cooking salt in a pint of water.
▪ Making the parts smaller is the cheapest solution, but is it the best one?
▪ One possible solution might be to borrow the money.
▪ Sleeping tablets are not the best solution to insomnia as they upset the natural rhythm of sleep.
▪ The solution to this week's puzzle will be published in next week's magazine.
▪ We are now going to measure the boiling points of the different solutions.
▪ We can help you find a solution to all your financial problems.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ But the movie tells the wrong story, getting detoured into a murder investigation whose solution is far too obvious.
▪ One solution to this problem is for two or more classes to collaborate on a project.
▪ The solution is then completed in the usual way.
▪ The solution to both problems was already on the table three years ago.
▪ The colour change can be obscured by dirt in the solution.