Adjacent Words

Sway definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SWAY, v.t.
1. To move or wave; to wield with the hand; as, to sway the scepter.
2. To bias; to cause to lean or incline to one side. Let not temporal advantages sway you from the line of duty. The king was swayed by his council from the course he intended to pursue.
As bowls run true by being made
On purpose false, and to be sway'd.
3. To rule; to govern; to influence or direct by power and authority, or by moral force.
This was the race
To sway the world, and land and sea subdue.
She could not sway her house.
Take heed lest passion sway
Thy judgment to do aught which else free will
Would not admit.
SWAY, v.i. To be drawn to one side by weight; to lean. A wall sways to the west.
The balance sways on our part.
[This sense seems to indicate that this word and swag, are radically one.]
1. To have weight or influence.
The example of sundry churches--doth sway much.
2. To bear rule; to govern.
Had'st thou sway'd as kings should do--
3. In seamen's language, to hoist, particularly applied to the lower yards and to the topmast yards, etc.
SWAY, n. The swing or sweep of a weapon.
To strike with huge two-handed sway.
1. Any thing moving with bulk and power.
Are not you mov'd when all the sway of earth.
Shakes like a thing unfirm?
2. Preponderation; turn or cast of balance.
--Expert
When to advance, or stand, or turn the sway of battle.
3. Power exerted in governing; rule; dominion; control.
When vice prevails and impious men bear sway,
The post of honor is a private station.
4. Influence; weight or authority that inclines to one side; as the sway of desires. All the world is subject to the sway of fashion.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: controlling influence
2: pitching dangerously to one side [syn: rock, careen, sway, tilt] v
1: move back and forth or sideways; "the ship was rocking"; "the tall building swayed"; "She rocked back and forth on her feet" [syn: rock, sway, shake]
2: move or walk in a swinging or swaying manner; "He swung back" [syn: swing, sway]
3: win approval or support for; "Carry all before one"; "His speech did not sway the voters" [syn: carry, persuade, sway]
4: cause to move back and forth; "rock the cradle"; "rock the baby"; "the wind swayed the trees gently" [syn: rock, sway]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English sweigh, from sweyen Date: 14th century 1. the action or an instance of swaying or of being swayed ; an oscillating, fluctuating, or sweeping motion 2. an inclination or deflection caused by or as if by swaying 3. a. a controlling influence b. sovereign power ; dominion c. the ability to exercise influence or authority ; dominance Synonyms: see power II. verb Etymology: alteration of earlier swey to fall, swoon, from Middle English sweyen, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse sveigja to sway; akin to Lithuanian svaigti to become dizzy Date: circa 1500 intransitive verb 1. a. to swing slowly and rhythmically back and forth from a base or pivot b. to move gently from an upright to a leaning position 2. to hold sway ; act as ruler or governor 3. to fluctuate or veer between one point, position, or opinion and another transitive verb 1. a. to cause to sway ; set to swinging, rocking, or oscillating b. to cause to bend downward to one side c. to cause to turn aside ; deflect, divert 2. archaic a. wield b. govern, rule 3. a. to cause to vacillate b. to exert a guiding or controlling influence on 4. to hoist in place <sway up a mast> Synonyms: see swing, affect • swayer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 intr. & tr. lean or cause to lean unsteadily in different directions alternately. 2 intr. oscillate irregularly; waver. 3 tr. a control the motion or direction of. b have influence or rule over. --n. 1 rule, influence, or government (hold sway). 2 a swaying motion or position. Phrases and idioms: sway-back an abnormally hollowed back (esp. of a horse); lordosis. sway-backed (esp. of a horse) having a sway-back. Etymology: ME: cf. LG swajen be blown to and fro, Du. zwaaien swing, wave

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sway Sway, n. 1. The act of swaying; a swaying motion; the swing or sweep of a weapon. With huge two-handed sway brandished aloft. --Milton. 2. Influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side; as, the sway of desires. --A. Tucker. 3. Preponderance; turn or cast of balance. Expert When to advance, or stand, or turn the sway Of battle. --Milton. 4. Rule; dominion; control. --Cowper. When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway, The post of honor is a private station. --Addison. 5. A switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work. [Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell. Syn: Rule; dominion; power; empire; control; influence; direction; preponderance; ascendency.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sway Sway, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Swayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Swaying.] [OE. sweyen, Icel. sveigja, akin to E. swing; cf. D. zwaaijen to wield, swing. See Swing, and cf. Swag, v. i.] 1. To move or wield with the hand; to swing; to wield; as, to sway the scepter. As sparkles from the anvil rise, When heavy hammers on the wedge are swayed. --Spenser. 2. To influence or direct by power and authority; by persuasion, or by moral force; to rule; to govern; to guide. The will of man is by his reason swayed. --Shak. She could not sway her house. --Shak. This was the race To sway the world, and land and sea subdue. --Dryden. 3. 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. As bowls run true by being made On purpose false, and to be swayed. --Hudibras. Let not temporal and little advantages sway you against a more durable interest. --Tillotson. 4. (Naut.) To hoist; as, to sway up the yards. Syn: To bias; rule; govern; direct; influence; swing; move; wave; wield.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sway Sway, v. i. 1. To be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean; to incline. The balance sways on our part. --Bacon. 2. To move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward. 3. To have weight or influence. The example of sundry churches . . . doth sway much. --Hooker. 4. To bear sway; to rule; to govern. Hadst thou swayed as kings should do. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(sways, swaying, swayed) 1. When people or things sway, they lean or swing slowly from one side to the other. The people swayed back and forth with arms linked... The whole boat swayed and tipped. ...a coastal highway lined with tall, swaying palm trees. VERB: V adv/prep, V, V-ing 2. If you are swayed by someone or something, you are influenced by them. Don't ever be swayed by fashion. ...last minute efforts by the main political parties to sway the voters in tomorrow's local elections. VERB: be V-ed, V n 3. If someone or something holds sway, they have great power or influence over a particular place or activity. South of the Usk, a completely different approach seems to hold sway... PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR over n 4. If you are under the sway of someone or something, they have great influence over you. How mothers keep daughters under their sway is the subject of the next five sections. PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Move, wield, swing, wave, brandish, poise, balance. 2. Bias, bend, turn. 3. Rule, govern, direct, guide, control, influence. 4. (Naut.) Hoist, raise. II. v. n. 1. Govern, bear rule, reign. 2. Have weight, have influence, prevail. 3. Incline, lean. III. n. 1. Power, dominion, control, empire, domination, command, rule, government, sovereignty, ascendency, authority, predominance, mastership, mastery, supreme power. 2. Influence, weight, authority, direction, bias. 3. Preponderation, preponderance. 4. Swing, sweep.

Moby Thesaurus

acme, administration, affect, alternate, amplitude, angle, angle off, angularity, argue into, ascend, ascendancy, authority, authorization, back and fill, bank, be-all and end-all, bear off, bear reign, bend, bias, blue ribbon, blunder, bob, bobble, break down, bring, bring over, bring round, bring to reason, cant, captivate, careen, career, carry, cave in, championship, charisma, charm, civil government, claws, climb, clout, clutches, coggle, collapse, color, command, con, conduct, consequence, control, convince, credit, crook, dangle, decide, decline, deflect, descend, determine, deviate, dip, direct, direction, directorship, discipline, dispensation, dispose, disposition, distort, divagate, diverge, divert, dominance, domination, dominion, draw over, drop, ebb and flow, effect, effectiveness, eminence, empery, empire, enchantment, engage, enlist, esteem, expanse, fall, fall away, fall in, fall off, falter, favor, first place, first prize, flounce, flounder, fluctuate, flutter, force, form of government, founder, gain, gain over, get, get to do, go downhill, go through phases, go uphill, good feeling, govern, governance, government, grade, grasp, grip, hand, hands, headship, heave, hegemony, height, highest, hobbyhorse, hold, hook, hook in, imperium, importance, impress, incidental power, inclination, incline, induce, influence, influentiality, insinuation, inspire, interest in, iron hand, jaundice, jurisdiction, keel, kingship, labor, lead, leadership, lean, leaning, leaning tower, leverage, librate, libration, list, lordship, lurch, lure, magnetism, make heavy weather, manage, management, mastership, mastery, maximum, might, moment, most, move, ne plus ultra, new high, nutate, oblique, oscillate, outtalk, overrule, oversight, palms, paramountcy, pendulate, personality, persuade, persuasion, pitch, pitch and plunge, pitch and toss, plunge, political organization, polity, potency, pound, power, predispose, predominance, prejudice, prejudice against, prejudice the issue, preponderance, prepossess, presidency, pressure, prestige, prevail on, prevail upon, prevail with, primacy, procure, prompt, purchase, raj, rake, range, reach, rear, record, reel, regime, regimen, regnancy, regulation, reign, repute, resonate, retreat, ring the changes, rise, rock, roll, rule, rule over, say, scend, scope, seesaw, seethe, sell, sell one on, shake, sheer, shelve, shift, shuffle, sidle, skew, slant, slope, slue, soften up, sovereignty, spread, stagger, stretch, strike, strings, struggle, stumble, suasion, subtle influence, suggestion, supervision, supremacy, swag, sweep, swerve, swing, swinging, system of government, talk into, talk over, talons, teeter, teeter-totter, tempt, tend, thrash about, tilt, tinge, tip, tone, top spot, topple, topple down, topple over, toss, toss and tumble, toss and turn, totter, touch, tower of Pisa, tumble, turn, twist, undulate, upper hand, uprise, vacillate, vary, veer, vibrate, volutation, wag, waggle, wallop, wallow, wangle, wangle into, warp, wave, waver, wax and wane, wear down, wear the crown, weave, weigh with, weight, welter, whip hand, wield the scepter, win, win over, wobble, work, yaw, zenith