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Common collocations with idea in American Collocation

idea noun

US /aɪˈdiə/

good or clever

brilliant
clever
excellent
fantastic
good
great

The teachers are full of enthusiasm and good ideas to make learning fun for children.

showing imagination and original thinking

creative
imaginative
ingenious
original

It was an ingenious idea which eventually saved the company a great deal of money.

new

fresh
new
novel

We’re always keen to try new ideas.

new and involving major changes

innovative
radical
revolutionary

At this time, people were discovering Freud’s revolutionary ideas about the unconscious.

bad or stupid

bad
half-baked
impractical
silly
stupid

They came up with a half-baked idea for expanding the business.

crazy and completely impractical

crazy
fanciful
hare-brained
ludicrous
outlandish
preposterous
ridiculous
utopian
wacky

Their solution is to build more airports – the whole idea is ludicrous.

types of idea

creative
practical

It’s ideal for serious writers who want to get the most from their creative ideas.

business
design
fundraising
gift
recipe

This magazine will help anyone looking for gift ideas.

have an idea

come up with
conceive
have
hit on

He hit upon the wonderful idea of publishing old maps.

Ben was full of ideas about how to make money.

develop an idea

develop
formulate

His subsequent book, Cities for a Small Planet, developed these ideas in greater depth.

encourage new ideas to develop

generate
spark
stimulate

The purpose of the worksheet is to generate new ideas about alternative energy.

talk about ideas with other people

bounce around
bounce off someone
discuss
exchange
share
swap

There is ideal opportunity to try out new technologies and bounce ideas off other practioners.

try to find an idea

look for

I am looking for ideas on how to run the workshop in an interesting way.

consider an idea as possible

consider
entertain
experiment with
explore
play with
toy with

Initially, I toyed with the idea of doing it myself.

We are open to ideas and willing to discuss any suggestions.

try to get people to accept your idea

promote

We’ll need to be bolder in promoting our ideas.

tell people what your ideas are

articulate
communicate
convey
expound
express

They looked for for simple and effective ways to communicate environmental ideas with a mass market appeal.

suggest an idea for people to consider

contribute
float
introduce
meet
pitch
present
suggest

We meet monthly to discuss important issues and to float new ideas.

like an idea

embrace
like
welcome

We welcome new ideas, innovation and creativity.

decide an idea is not practical

abandon
dismiss
reject

I temporarily abandoned the idea of going to college.

when someone suddenly has an idea

hit someone
occur to someone

Suddenly an idea hit him and he rushed over to Krodders excitedly.

when an idea comes from something

come from something
originate
stem from something

The idea stemmed from a conversation I had with Jane.

when an idea starts to develop

arise
develop
emerge
evolve

Some excellent ideas have emerged from our questionnaires.