Sway
[sweɪ] or [swe]
Definition
(v. i.) To move or wield with the hand; to swing; to wield; as, to sway the scepter.
(v. i.) To influence or direct by power and authority; by persuasion, or by moral force; to rule; to govern; to guide.
(v. i.) To cause to incline or swing to one side, or backward and forward; to bias; to turn; to bend; warp; as, reeds swayed by wind; judgment swayed by passion.
(v. i.) To hoist; as, to sway up the yards.
(v. i.) To be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean; to incline.
(v. i.) To move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward.
(v. i.) To have weight or influence.
(v. i.) To bear sway; to rule; to govern.
(n.) The act of swaying; a swaying motion; the swing or sweep of a weapon.
(n.) Influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side; as, the sway of desires.
(n.) Preponderance; turn or cast of balance.
(n.) Rule; dominion; control.
(n.) A switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work.
Edited by Ian
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Move, wield, swing, wave, brandish.[2]. Bias, prejudice, bend, turn, influence, persuade, prevail upon.[3]. Rule, govern, direct, guide, control.
v. n. Incline, lean.
n. Power, dominion, control, domination, command, rule, government, sovereignty, ascendancy, authority, predominance, mastership, mastery, supreme power.
Edited by Colin
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Influence, govern, rule, bias, wave, swing, {[wiel<]?},[See MARSH]
SYN:Wield, influence, rule, authority, government, superiority, bias, dominion,control, preponderance, domination, supremacy, mastery, ascendency, weight,force, power
ANT:Weakness, Inferiority, subordination, irresistance, obedience, subservience,subjection
Editor: Vince
Definition
v.t. to swing or wield with the hand: to incline to one side: to influence by power or moral force: to govern: to hoist raise.—v.i. to incline to one side: to govern: to have weight or influence.—n. the sweep of a weapon: that which moves with power: preponderance: power in governing: influence or authority inclining to one side: a thatcher's binding-switch.—adj. Swayed (Shak.) bent down and injured in the back by heavy burdens—said of a horse.
Edited by Eileen
Examples
- The earth seemed to tilt and sway, and a complete darkness was coming over his mind. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- The joint family system, he said, has descended to us from time immemorial, the Aryan patriarchal system of old still holding sway in India. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Though warm-hearted and sympathetic, she was not nervous; powerful emotions could rouse and sway without exhausting her spirit. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I've looked in upon you, and empire resumes her sway. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Throughout the fourteenth century the papacy did nothing to recover its moral sway. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The Greek language resumed its sway, which had never been very seriously undermined by the official use of Latin. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- We know that the principal feature, when we are dreaming, is the absence of our control over the current of thought, so that the principal of suggestion has an unlimited sway. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- The car lurched and swayed. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- One is reminded of the lines of Tennyson: Large elements in order brought And tracts of calm from tempest made, And world fluctuation swayed In vassal tides that followed thought. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Dr. Keith, swayed by the jaw-bone, does not think that _Eoanthropus_, in spite of its name, is a creature in the direct ancestry of man. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- You think me unsteady: easily swayed by the whim of the moment, easily tempted, easily put aside. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- For, indeed, who is there alive that will not be swayed by his bias and partiality to the place of his birth? Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- As dark night drew on, the sea roughened: larger waves swayed strong against the vessel's side. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- But he reached further, the boat swayed violently. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- The darkness seemed to be swaying in waves across his mind, great waves of darkness plunging across his mind. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- A breeze had sprung up, swaying inward the muslin curtains, and bringing a fresh scent of mignonette and petunias from the flower-box on the balcony. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- She sat down in her little rocking-chair before the fire, swaying thoughtfully to and fro. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- The half-dark waters were sprinkled with lovely bubbles of swaying lights, the launch did not look far off. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Greek dances are rather monotonous, I am afraid, said Roylands, who found this incessant swaying a trifle wearisome. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- The swaying tide swept this way, and then it fell back, and I followed its retreat. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Miss Havisham, with her head in her hands, sat making a low moaning, and swaying herself on her chair, but gave no answer. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
Checker: Stan