Meaning of “influence” in the English Dictionary

English
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"influence" in English

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influence noun [ C or U ]
uk ​ /ˈɪn.flu.əns/ us ​ /ˈɪn.flu.əns/

B2 the power to have an effect on people or things, or a person or thing that is able to do this:

Helen's a bad/good influence on him.
He has a huge amount of influence over the city council.
Christopher hoped to exert his influence to make them change their minds.
At the time she was under the influence of her father.

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Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Idiom(s)

under the influence
influence verb [ T ]
uk ​ /ˈɪn.flu.əns/ us ​ /ˈɪn.flu.əns/

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

American
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"influence" in American English

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influence verb [ T ]
us ​ /ˈɪnˌflu·əns/ /ɪnˈflu-/

› to cause someone to change a behavior, belief, or opinion, or to cause something to be changed:

Businesses make large contributions to members of Congress, hoping to influence their votes on key issues.
She was influenced by the common-sense views of her grandparents.
That speech influenced the course of American history.
influence noun [ C/U ]
us ​ /ˈɪnˌflu·əns/ /ɪnˈflu-/

› the power to have an effect on people or things, or someone or something having such power:

[ C ] The kid next door is a bad/good influence on Kevin.
[ U ] She used her influence to get her son a summer job.

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

Business
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"influence" in Business English

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influence noun
uk ​ /ˈɪnfluəns/ us ​

› [ C or U ] the ability to have an effect on people or events:

exert/have/exercise (an) influence He is close enough to the President to exert influence.
(an) influence on sth Bloggers are expanding their influence on American politics.
(an) influence over sth Consumer groups act as champions and have critical influence over industry.
considerable/profound/growing influence He called on the industry to use its considerable influence to help resolve the situation.

› [ C ] a person or thing that is able to have an effect on other people or on events:

International influences in the form of technology, systems and capital have historically been a feature of industrialization and economic growth.
be an influence on sb/sth She has been a big influence on me in my career.
considerable/great/major influence

See also

undue influence
influence verb [ T ]
uk ​ /ˈɪnfluəns/ us ​

› to affect or change how someone or something develops, behaves, or thinks:

Many analysts regard the state of the U.S. job market as a major factor influencing consumer confidence.
influence how/what/when An organization's values have been shown to influence how employees interact with each other.

(Definition of “influence” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples

Examples for 'influence'

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Under his influence, she decided at a young age to follow the consecrated life.
From
Wikipedia
The main reason for not continuing to include minority participations is that the holding of such participations without a dominant influence does not provide any opportunity for unfavourable intra-group transactions.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
To believe that currency has a long term influence on growth and employment, as was the case in the preliminary report, has devastating consequences for monetary policy.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Much influence of religion can be found in the laws then.
From
Wikipedia
The influence of the region is also important for other countries which are not directly associated with it.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Many of the minority languages find themselves in difficulties under the influence of changing communication patterns.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Deepening social integration will help to influence social and political change, and is a vital investment in the future.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
The ego is that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world...
From
Wikipedia
With their great power and influence in the markets, there should also be significant responsibility.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
The media's influence has something to do with this growth, but it is growing during the crisis as well.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
We therefore need to influence public opinion in this area.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
He is described as being much larger than the other virals and possesses the ability to influence weak-willed people.
From
Wikipedia
We have extensive legislative powers which strongly influence the lives of our fellow citizens.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Our main influence is life itself as a whole.
From
Wikipedia
Considerations regarding information ethics influence personal decisions, professional practice, and public policy.
From
Wikipedia

Blogs about "influence"

European Union – in or out? The language of the UK's referendum

by Liz Walter,

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