Entry Word: sway

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 the power to bring about a result on another <after the last day of school, under the sway of euphoria, I offered to take my little sister to the park> — see effect 2
2 the power to direct the thinking or behavior of others usually indirectly <outdated attitudes that still hold sway in some communities> — see influence 1
3 the right or means to command or control others <a time when Rome held sway over a vast empire that stretched from Britain to the Near East> — see power 1