hold sway over

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Dominate, have a controlling influence over, as in He held sway over the entire department. This idiom uses the noun sway in the sense of “power” or “dominion,” a usage dating from the late 1500s.

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Words nearby hold sway over

holdout, hold out on, holdover, hold someone's feet to the fire, hold still for, hold sway over, hold the bag, hold the fort, hold the line, hold the phone, hold the purse strings

How to use hold sway over in a sentence

They are always suspended over a precipice, dangling by a slender thread that shows every sign of snapping.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And now, similarly, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee: "Bend over and take it like a prisoner!"
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps on his own nowadays, Epstein is trying his best to webmaster over a dozen URLs.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking|M.L. Nestel|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But yes, I pictured a James Bond-type just sauntering over to her.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Blacks would hold about 13 percent of the seats and Latinos 17 percent.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Congress|Dean Obeidallah|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It is most peculiar, and when he plays that way, the most bewitching little expression comes over his face.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
Most of the men leaped up, caught hold of spears or knives, and rushed out.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
All over the world the just claims of organized labor are intermingled with the underground conspiracy of social revolution.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
After we had passed over this desert, we found several garisons to defend the caravans from the violence of the Tartars.
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe
After relievedly giving the pistol to the nearest soldier, he stumbled quickly over to Brion and took his hand.
Sense of Obligation|Henry Maxwell Dempsey (AKA Harry Harrison)

hold sway over

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How to use hold sway over in a sentence