Tim Bowen keeps the peace by delivering another fine article on collocations.

Most people want peace, especially peace that is durable, enduring, lasting or permanent, as in ‘After years of conflict, lasting peace has returned to the region’. Unfortunately, peace is not always expected to last very long, in which case it can be described as fragile or uneasy, as in ‘An uneasy peace has descended on the area but outbreaks of sporadic violence are still being reported’.

Peace can be brought, built, made or secured, as in ‘Frantic efforts are being made to bring peace to the war-ravaged country’, and once this has happened it becomes necessary to keep, maintain, preserve or safeguard it, as in ‘These operations support diplomatic efforts to maintain peace in an area of potential conflict’. If this fails and violence breaks out again, it may become necessary to restore or re-establish peace, as in ‘The rebellion appears to have fizzled out, thereby restoring peace to the country’. 

Certain activities promote peace, as in ‘The agreement would serve the interests of both sides and promote regional peace and security’, while other activities threaten or endanger peace, as in ‘The growing influence of terrorist groups is endangering peace throughout the region’.

The word peace also collocates with a number of nouns, including various words for agreement such as accord, deal, settlement and treaty, as in ‘Efforts to reach a peace deal have intensified in recent weeks’, and words for discussions such as negotiations, process and talks, as in ‘After several weeks of inactivity, peace talks are due to resume later today’.

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