sway

American  

[sway] / sweɪ /

verb (used without object)

• sways,
  present (3rd person singular)
• swayed,
  past participle,  past
• swaying
  present participle

1. to move or swing to and fro, as something fixed at one end or resting on a support.

   Synonyms:

   wave

2. to move or incline to one side or in a particular direction.

3. to incline in opinion, sympathy, tendency, etc..

   She swayed toward conservatism.

   Synonyms:

   tend, bend, lean

4. to fluctuate or vacillate, as in opinion.

   His ideas swayed this way and that.

5. to wield power; exercise rule.

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verb (used with object)

• sways,
  present (3rd person singular)
• swayed,
  past participle,  past
• swaying
  present participle

1. to cause to move to and fro or to incline from side to side.

2. to cause to move to one side or in a particular direction.

3. Nautical. to hoist or raise (a yard, topmast, or the like) (usually followed byup ).

4. to cause to fluctuate or vacillate.

5. to cause (the mind, emotions, etc., or a person) to incline or turn in a specified way; influence.

6. to cause to swerve, as from a purpose or a course of action.

   He swayed them from their plan.

7. to dominate; direct.

8. to wield, as a weapon or scepter.

9. to rule; govern.

noun

1. the act of swaying; swaying movement.

2. rule; dominion.

   He held all Asia in his sway.

3. dominating power or influence.

   Many voters were under his sway.

sway British  

/ sweɪ /

verb

1. (usually intr) to swing or cause to swing to and fro

2. (usually intr) to lean or incline or cause to lean or incline to one side or in different directions in turn

3. (usually intr) to vacillate or cause to vacillate between two or more opinions

4. to be influenced or swerve or influence or cause to swerve to or from a purpose or opinion

5. (tr) nautical to hoist (a yard, mast, or other spar)

6. archaic to rule or wield power (over)

7. archaic (tr) to wield (a weapon)

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noun

1. control; power

2. a swinging or leaning movement

3. archaic dominion; governing authority

4. to be master; reign

sway Idioms  

1. see hold sway.

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Synonym Usage

See swing ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-sway
  noun
• swayer
  noun
• swayable
  adjective
• swayful
  adjective
• unswayable
  adjective
• unswaying
  adjective
• swayingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• swaying
  present
• swayed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sway
  simple
• sways
  simple
• have swayed
  perfect
• has swayed
  perfect
• am swaying
  progressive
• are swaying
  progressive
• is swaying
  progressive
• have been swaying
  perfect progressive
• has been swaying
  perfect progressive

Past

• swayed
  simple
• had swayed
  perfect
• was swaying
  progressive
• were swaying
  progressive
• had been swaying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sway
  simple
• will have swayed
  perfect
• will be swaying
  progressive
• will have been swaying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of sway

First recorded in 1300–50; (for the verb) Middle English sweyen, from Old Norse sveigja “to bend, sway” (transitive); noun derivative of the verb

Explanation

Back and forth...back and forth...back and forth...are you sea-sick yet? The sway, or rocking motion, of a boat is too much for many stomachs. People can sway if they're dizzy, tilting from side to side as they walk. On a windy day you can see trees swaying and bending in the wind. Swaying is usually a gentle motion, but if you're easily swayed, you're in trouble. That means you're easily influenced by others. People of power often "hold sway" over their followers, controlling them with the seeming ease of the breeze.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sway sways swayed swaying

This time, his wife's testimony failed to sway the court.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

As Béatrice’s amateur detective work pulls her in deeper, the strands begin to suggest a conspiracy, one marked by mysterious disappearances and the clandestine sway of the Vatican.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Even the faux-prestige of 2022’s “Babylon” couldn’t sway viewers.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

The Swedish American Investment Corp. put most of its assets under the sway of Ivar Kreuger, an aggressive dealmaker who later died in an apparent suicide after his business empire crumbled.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

It was not the sickening sway of the rising balloon that had sent her to the floor of the basket with her knees clutched to her chest.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Settles-Bey sways to the rhythm of the bongos on a recent Sunday in the park -- but nerves are still frayed.

From Barron's ● May 19, 2026

Putting a red pump on a can of Diet Coke isn’t going to be the factor that sways ticket sales.

From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2026

When his “political enemy,” the glib and popular Alcibiades, sways the assembly, Nicias replies that this means sending both a fleet and “large numbers of land forces.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

Nintendo argues its 3D audio tech will create a surround sound experience, but this is unlikely to be the feature that sways people to picking up the device.

From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2025

The more attention he gets from Angela and Hilda, the more he sways to the music.

From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya

"The race is tied but not at a standstill: the final week will determine where the voters who can still be swayed will go," Felipe Nunes, director of the Quaest polling institute, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Although players may enjoy this responsibility, how the team play can be swayed by individual players' natural tendencies.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Matthew Luzzetti, chief economist at Deutsche Bank, said that he thought Warsh had made a case for a September rate hike that would not be swayed by data over the next two weeks.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

Perhaps swayed by all the social-media love for Delta’s Shake Shack collab in first class, I ordered the burger.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

All around me, sunflowers swayed in the gentle breeze, nodding their broad brown heads.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Banks, who was in a tan suit and brown tie, appeared nervous ahead of the verdict being read, swaying back and forth and at times swiveling in his chair.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

The group, swaying in unison, have come together to re-create the music video for Kate Bush's 1978 song Wuthering Heights, inspired by Emily Brontë's novel.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

Moderating gasoline prices and news of a ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran are slowly swaying consumers to feel marginally better about their economic situations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

An AFP journalist captured rare footage at Al-Rahmaniyah camp showing exhausted women shuffling under a punishing sun, jerrycans swaying on their heads after hours spent waiting for water at a distant well.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

The door was shut, and the hut was swaying as it flew, however it did.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

Related Words

• bend
• lean
• swing
• waver
• wobble