sway

Definitions

1. 1.To influence or direct by power and authority; by persuasion, or by moral force; to rule; to govern; to guide. The will of man is by his reason swayed. Shak. She could not sway her house. Shak. This was the race To sway the world, and land and sea subdue. Dryden.
2. 2.To cause to incline or swing to one side, or backward and forward; to bias; to turn; to bend; warp; as, reeds swayed by wind; judgment swayed by passion. As bowls run true by being made On purpose false, and to be swayed. Hudibras. Let not temporal and little advantages sway you against a more durable interest. Tillotson.
3. 3.(Naut.) To hoist; as, to sway up the yards.
4. 4.To be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean; to incline. The balance sways on our part. Bacon.
5. 5.To move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward.
6. 6.To have weight or influence. The example of sundry churches . . . doth sway much. Hooker.
7. 7.To bear sway; to rule; to govern. Hadst thou swayed as kings should do. Shak.
8. 8.The act of swaying; a swaying motion; the swing or sweep of a weapon. With huge two-handed sway brandished aloft. Milton.
9. 9.Influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side; as, the sway of desires. A. Tucker.
10. 10.Preponderance; turn or cast of balance. Expert When to advance, or stand, or turn the sway Of battle. Milton.
11. 11.Rule; dominion; control. Cowper. When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway, The post of honor is a private station. Addison.
12. 12.A switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

• What does "sway" mean?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is sway.

• What is to hoist; as, to sway up the yards called?
• What is to be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean; to incline. The balance sways on our part. Bacon called?
• What is to move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward called?
• What is to have weight or influence. The example of sundry churches . . . doth sway much. Hooker called?
• What is to bear sway; to rule; to govern. Hadst thou swayed as kings should do. Shak called?
• What is the act of swaying; a swaying motion; the swing or sweep of a weapon. With huge two-handed sway brandished aloft. Milton called?
• What is influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side; as, the sway of desires. A. Tucker called?
• What is preponderance; turn or cast of balance. Expert When to advance, or stand, or turn the sway Of battle. Milton called?
• What is rule; dominion; control. Cowper. When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway, The post of honor is a private station. Addison called?
• What is a switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell called?