Meaning of “sway” in the English Dictionary

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"sway" in English

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swayverb

uk ​ /sweɪ/ us ​ /sweɪ/

sway verb (MOVE)

› [ I ] to move slowly from side to side:

The trees were swaying in the wind.
The movement of the ship caused the mast to sway from side to side/back and forth.
A drunk was standing in the middle of the street, swaying uncertainly and trying hard to stay upright.

› [ T ] to cause something to move or change:

Recent developments have swayed the balance of power in the region.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

swaynoun [ U ]

uk ​ /sweɪ/ us ​ /sweɪ/ formal

(Definition of “sway” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

"sway" in American English

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swayverb

us ​ /sweɪ/

sway verb (MOVE)

› [ I ] to move slowly from side to side:

The trees sway in the wind.

sway verb (PERSUADE)

› [ T ] to persuade someone to believe or to do something:

Were you swayed by her arguments?

swaynoun [ U ]

us ​ /sweɪ/

sway noun [ U ] (MOVEMENT)

› a slow movement from side to side:

The car showed lots of sway in crosswinds.

sway noun [ U ] (ABILITY TO PERSUADE)

› the ability to persuade:

As a young musician, he fell under the sway of Louis Armstrong.
Large corporations hold sway with Congress.

(Definition of “sway” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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