wielding

American  

[weel-ding] / ˈwil dɪŋ /

adjective

1. exercising power, authority, influence, etc..

   Russia is a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council.

   Discussion focused on the accountability of power-wielding institutions.

2. using or actively handling a weapon, instrument, etc..

   A torch-wielding group of nationalists gathered around the statue for a nighttime protest.

---

noun

1. the act of exercising power or authority or of using or handling a weapon, instrument, etc..

   Many programs have fallen to the government’s ceaseless wielding of the budget-cutting knife.

Etymology

Origin of wielding

First recorded in 1575–85; wield ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; wield ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun sense

Example Sentences

Like many writers, Harvard fears being accused of wielding machine-made material.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

Last year, a mural unveiled on the side of the Royal Courts of Justice building - depicting a judge wielding a gavel over a protestor - was also quickly erased.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

Activism isn’t just about wielding guns and throwing rocks but organizing online, in the classrooms and among households.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026

Appearing on Fox News over the weekend, Johnson said he was “in big support of the First Amendment” and that he did not “like the heavy hand of government, no matter who’s wielding it.”

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

Of course it’s Finnick, who seems to have spent his childhood doing nothing but wielding tridents and manipulating ropes into fancy knots for nets, I guess.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• charge
• handling
• management
• manipulation
• oversight
• plan
• policy
• strategy
• transaction
• treatment