Word family noun friend friendliness friendship friendly adjective friendly ≠ unfriendly friendless verb befriend
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfriendshipfriend‧ship /ˈfrendʃɪp/ ●●○ W3 noun 1 [countable]FRIEND a relationship between friendsfriendship between The friendship between father and youth deepened.friendship with his friendship with Sam her close friendship with her aunt a lifelong friendship The two boys formed a deep and lasting friendship. He and Bob struck up a friendship (=began to be friends).2 [uncountable]FRIEND the feelings and behaviour that exist between friends I could always rely on Gary for friendship and support. The Indians have extended the hand of friendship (=shown that they want to be friends with another country).COLLOCATIONSverbsstart a friendshipTheir friendship started after they met at a conference.strike up a friendshipHe and Matthew struck up a friendship.form a friendshipThe two girls soon formed a friendship.a friendship developsFriendship often develops on the basis of shared interests.renew a friendship (=become friends again)They renewed their friendship after the war.destroy/spoil a friendshipTheir friendship was spoilt after a fierce argument.adjectivesa close friendshipRon had formed a close relationship with Andrea.a firm friendship (=one that is strong and not likely to change)I established a firm friendship with Terence.a lasting friendshipThis began a lasting friendship between the two women.a long-standing friendship (=one that has existed for a long time)There is a long-standing friendship between the two countries.a lifelong friendshipThe two men formed a lifelong friendship.phrasesbonds/ties of friendship (=things that connect friends)They were united by deep bonds of friendship.a gesture of friendship (=an action which shows that someone is a friend)He invited us to his house as a gesture of friendship.an offer of friendshipHe turned down the King's offer of friendship.offer/extend the hand of friendship (=officially say that you want a friendly relationship)America extended the hand of friendship, but it was rejected. Examples from the Corpus
friendship• Bernstein's visit to Copland's studio led to a friendship between the two composers.• The atmosphere is relaxed and convivial and friendships are often forged after dinner in the lounge.• I had no close friendships with other boys at school.• Now the woman is hoping to raise over £100,000 by selling souvenirs of her friendship.• However, I feel sure she values her friendship with me enough to play it our way.• Right from childhood, he had recognized that these great beasts had potential for almost limitless friendship and loyalty.• In his speech, Irving talked about the importance of friendship and loyalty.• Through it all, the ties of friendship prove stronger than wildly varied personal agendas and abject stupidity.• Our marriage is based on friendship, love, and trust.• We didn't see each other much during that time, but our friendship remained strong.• Our friendship developed quickly over the weeks that followed.• Strong friendship takes time to build.• On the other hand, did he need their friendship enough to risk his safety?close friendship• Rosen has worked politically for Kennedy since his 1980 presidential primary run and developed a close friendship with the senator.• But now Joe was more presentable, and he formed a close friendship with both Katharine and Phil Graham.• Moses, 24, has a close friendship with Keim, 17, who won her first national title.• It is evident that many Volunteers enjoy close friendships with some of their students in and outside the classroom.• Learning to play with other children and to form close friendships with some of them is a vital part of growing up.• Likewise, close friendships sometimes alter when one friend retires - and not the other.• Diana's close friendship with the bachelor was revealed in sensational tapes published this summer.• Eline envied the close friendship the two so obviously enjoyed. 