under the influence

Idioms  

1. Impaired functioning owing to alcohol consumption, as in He was accused of driving under the influence. This expression, from legal jargon, is short for under the influence of intoxicating liquor and implies that one is not completely drunk. Since it is nearly always applied to drivers suspected or so accused, it has given rise to the police acronym DUI, for “driving under the influence.” [Second half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Findings are prone to distortion under the influence of nonpsychiatric factors.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026

"This means that the brains of our ancestors developed under the influence of a potent toxic metal, which may have shaped their social behavior and cognitive abilities over millennia."

From Science Daily • Nov. 16, 2025

A major issue is the expanding bear population, which is growing fast due to an abundance of food -- including acorns, deer and boars -- under the influence of a warming climate, experts say.

From Barron's • Nov. 8, 2025

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that Martinez had been convicted for driving under the influence in Los Angeles and had entered the country illegally in 2022, but was released.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 2, 2025

Uriah himself was tumbling from his horse, like rather an inexperienced diver, under the influence of a stroke which one of the opposing knights had delivered in the region of his midriff.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White