sway
Americanverb (used without object)
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to move or swing to and fro, as something fixed at one end or resting on a support.
- Synonyms:
- wave
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to move or incline to one side or in a particular direction.
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to incline in opinion, sympathy, tendency, etc..
She swayed toward conservatism.
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to fluctuate or vacillate, as in opinion.
His ideas swayed this way and that.
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to wield power; exercise rule.
verb (used with object)
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to cause to move to and fro or to incline from side to side.
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to cause to move to one side or in a particular direction.
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Nautical. to hoist or raise (a yard, topmast, or the like) (usually followed byup ).
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to cause to fluctuate or vacillate.
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to cause (the mind, emotions, etc., or a person) to incline or turn in a specified way; influence.
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to cause to swerve, as from a purpose or a course of action.
He swayed them from their plan.
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to dominate; direct.
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to wield, as a weapon or scepter.
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to rule; govern.
noun
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the act of swaying; swaying movement.
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rule; dominion.
He held all Asia in his sway.
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dominating power or influence.
Many voters were under his sway.
verb
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(usually intr) to swing or cause to swing to and fro
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(usually intr) to lean or incline or cause to lean or incline to one side or in different directions in turn
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(usually intr) to vacillate or cause to vacillate between two or more opinions
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to be influenced or swerve or influence or cause to swerve to or from a purpose or opinion
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(tr) nautical to hoist (a yard, mast, or other spar)
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archaic to rule or wield power (over)
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archaic (tr) to wield (a weapon)
noun
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control; power
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a swinging or leaning movement
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archaic dominion; governing authority
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to be master; reign
Synonym Usage
See swing 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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self-swaynoun
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swayernoun
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swayableadjective
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swayfuladjective
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unswayableadjective
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unswayingadjective
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swayinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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swaysimple
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swayssimple
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have swayedperfect
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has swayedperfect
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am swayingprogressive
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are swayingprogressive
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is swayingprogressive
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have been swayingperfect progressive
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has been swayingperfect progressive
Past
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swayedsimple
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had swayedperfect
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was swayingprogressive
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were swayingprogressive
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had been swayingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing sway
Unit 1: Telling Details
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"A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury
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"O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"I don't think he has much political sway in Britain or on the continent," says Gawain Towler, a former Reform UK director of communications who still supports the party.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
“Sinners” and “Weapons” proved ambitious horror can indeed sway the Academy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Rodrigo Leite of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro told AFP that public figures held more sway than traditional commercials, and that Brazilians needed better financial education.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
But in the most consequential foreign policy decision of Trump’s presidency to date, it was Graham who held sway.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
The ground beneath me is beginning to sway, and the phone in my hand feels like it weighs a ton.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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
A palm tree sways in the breeze, its fronds brown and shedding.
From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm
A defendant need show only a “reasonable possibility” that the bogus forensics swayed even one juror.
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
She paced, she swayed, she laughed with displeasure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
In one email, Burnham said a donations cap "would guard against the perception of any one party being unduly influenced or swayed by one person or organisation".
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
Regan also swayed investors with what Cialdini calls “social proof,” namedropping influential-sounding people or institutions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
The bridge wobbled and swayed under the Midfolk’s rushing feet and paws.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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
Something dark and flat was swaying gently against the floor of the Reflecting Pool as I strolled past the monuments on Thursday morning.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2026
Corporations, labor unions, tech titans, tribes and other special interests have donated $79.6 million to independent committees focused on swaying the volatile California governor’s race ahead of the June 2 primary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
With their aid, she rose like a jack-in-the-box, swaying unsteadily as her eyes adjusted to the light.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
