{
    "term": "reinforce",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "academic": true,
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "b2",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "reinforce",
            "heSheIt": "reinforces"
        },
        "pastSimple": "reinforced",
        "pastParticiple": "reinforced",
        "ingForm": "reinforcing"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "to make a feeling, an idea, etc. stronger",
            "sensetop": "reinforce something",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The experience reinforced my sense of loss."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Such jokes tend to reinforce gender stereotypes."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The climate of political confusion has only reinforced the country's economic decline."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Success in the talks will reinforce his reputation as an international statesman."
                },
                {
                    "text": "All this simply reinforces my earlier point."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Our prejudices are subtly reinforced in many different ways."
                },
                {
                    "text": "This report strongly reinforces the view that the system must be changed."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Violence and rejection by society are mutually reinforcing."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["greatly", "powerfully", "strongly"],
                "verb + reinforce": ["help (to)", "serve to", "tend to"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "to make a structure or material stronger, especially by adding another material to it",
            "sensetop": "reinforce something",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "All buildings are now reinforced to withstand earthquakes."
                },
                {
                    "text": "reinforced plastic/steel/concrete"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The door was built of oak, heavily reinforced with iron."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Physics and chemistry", "Buildings"],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["heavily"],
                "preposition": ["with"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "to send more people or equipment in order to make an army, etc. stronger",
            "sensetop": "reinforce something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The UN has undertaken to reinforce its military presence along the borders."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˌriːɪnˈfɔːs/",
                "audio": "re/reinforce/reinforce__gb_2.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˌriːɪnˈfɔːsɪz/",
                "audio": "re/reinforce/reinforces__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˌriːɪnˈfɔːst/",
                "audio": "re/reinforce/reinforced__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˌriːɪnˈfɔːsɪŋ/",
                "audio": "re/reinforce/reinforcing__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˌriːɪnˈfɔːrs/",
                "audio": "re/reinforce/reinforce__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˌriːɪnˈfɔːrsɪz/",
                "audio": "re/reinforce/reinforces__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˌriːɪnˈfɔːrst/",
                "audio": "re/reinforce/reinforced__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˌriːɪnˈfɔːrsɪŋ/",
                "audio": "re/reinforce/reinforcing__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "late Middle English: from French renforcer, influenced by inforce, an obsolete spelling of enforce; the sense of providing military support is probably from Italian rinforzare."
}