1
Core action
Influence or persuade someone to adopt a view, decision, or course of action.
Example
The new evidence swayed several previously sceptical reviewers.
sway
/sweɪ/ · SWAYverb
Influence or persuade someone to adopt a view, decision, or course of action.
Use sway to express this relationship precisely: influence or persuade someone to adopt a view, decision, or course of action.
What sway Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Common construction
Use this expression in its normal grammatical frame so the relationship between the surrounding ideas remains explicit.
Example
Emotional appeals did not sway the committee's decision.
3
Reasoning effect
It tells the reader how to interpret the timing, scope, evidence, contrast, condition, or consequence in the statement.
Example
One dramatic example may sway opinion without representing the broader pattern.
Use sway Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The new evidence swayed several previously sceptical reviewers.
Emotional appeals did not sway the committee's decision.
One dramatic example may sway opinion without representing the broader pattern.
Precision Matters
Sway overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
sway
vs.Means influence or persuade someone to adopt a view, decision, or course of action.
bolster
Means to support, strengthen, or reinforce.
sway
vs.Means influence or persuade someone to adopt a view, decision, or course of action.
induce
Means to cause or bring about.
sway
vs.Means influence or persuade someone to adopt a view, decision, or course of action.
elicit
Means to evoke or draw out a response, reaction, or information.
sway
vs.Means influence or persuade someone to adopt a view, decision, or course of action.
catalyze
Means cause or accelerate a reaction, process, or significant change.
Test sway in Context
It persuaded the jurors to change or adopt a position.
1
The testimony was vivid enough to ___ several jurors who had initially doubted the claim.