sway Definition
sway (swā)
intransitive verb
- to swing or move from side to side or to and fro
- to vacillate or alternate between one position, opinion, etc. and another
- to lean or incline to one side; veer
- Obsolete to incline or tend in judgment or opinion
- Old Poet. to rule; reign; hold sway
Etymology: ME sweyen < ON sveigja, to turn, bend: for IE base see swathe
transitive verb
- to cause to swing or move from side to side
- to cause to vacillate
- to cause to lean or incline to one side
- to cause (a person, an opinion, actions, etc.) to be inclined a certain way or be turned from a given course; influence or divert swayed by promises
- Archaic
- to wield (a scepter, etc.)
- to rule over or control; dominate
- Naut. to hoist (a mast, etc.) into place: usually with up
noun
- a swaying or being swayed; movement to the side; a swinging, leaning, fluctuation, etc.
- influence, force, or control moved by the sway of passion
- sovereign power or authority; rule; dominion
sway Related Forms
sway Idioms
hold sway
to reign or prevail
sway Synonyms
sway
n.
Fluctuation
swaying, swinging, swing, leaning, oscillation, vibration, undulation, wave, wavering, pulsation. Authority
power, jurisdiction, rule; see dominion 1, government 1, power 2. See syn. study at power.
hold sway
sway Synonyms
sway
v.
sway Usage Examples
Object
- palm: In the evenings, a canopy of stars shine over the swaying palms.
- voter: To sway voters we are seeing was being developed.
- opinion: He must be the man to help sway public opinion in Britain.
- tree: The sun shines, warm breezes sway the trees.
- hip: Swing your forearms in the direction of the slide whilst swaying the hips in the same direction also.
- crowd: Dogsby is already trying to sway the crowd on his side, in giving useful praise.
Converse of object
hold: Freud's belief System Home Free Articles Freud's belief System Freud's belief system held sway over much 20th century thinking.
Subject
Adjective modifier
- postural: Analysis of postural motion during exposure to the moving room revealed increases in postural sway before the onset of subjective motion sickness symptoms.
- held: More recently, had the likes of Petty held sway, we might not have even started this season with league status to lose.
- undisputed: Did too many other local lairds hold property in Innermessan to allow the Kennedies undisputed sway?
- absolute: And there were the eggs, forever barring him from the Kingdom which he had ruled so long with absolute sway!
Modifying Another Word
- gently: The beaches are backed by gently swaying palm trees.
- violently: BEWARE: Trains heading north on the fast lines do cause severe turbulence against the platform fence - causing it to sway quite violently.
- backward: We kept swaying backward and forward at an angle of forty-five degrees with no way of stopping or protecting ourselves.
Noun used with modifier
- holding: In terms of being the number one Box Office draw and holding sway over everyone else?
- trailer: Travel trailer sway elimination and related safety products for travel trailers and recreational vehicles.
Preposition: in
- breeze: I've seen how their branches swayed in the breezes.
- wind: A panel of gold foil swaying in the autumn wind.
Followed by an intransitive particle
along: The two of them swaying along to the song.
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