influence

noun in·flu·ence \ ˈin-ˌflü-ən(t)s , especially Southern in-ˈflü- \

Updated on: 14 May 2018

Definition of influence

plural influences

1 a : an ethereal fluid held to flow from the stars and to affect the actions of humans

b : an emanation of occult power held to derive from stars

2 : an emanation of spiritual or moral force

3 a : the act or power of producing an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command

b : corrupt interference with authority for personal gain

4 : the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways : sway

5 : one that exerts influence

— under the influence

: affected by alcohol or drug intoxication

was arrested for driving under the influence

See influence defined for English-language learners

See influence defined for kids

Examples of influence in a Sentence

Recent years have seen a decline in the company's influence within the industry.
Her ideas have gradually gained influence in the company.
He used his influence to reform the company's policies.
She has remained under the influence of her parents.
She claims that her personal problems played no influence upon her decision to resign.
His health problems may have had some influence on his decision.
Her parents still have a great deal of influence over her.
The chairman wields considerable influence over the board's decisions.
Her parents are concerned that her new friends may have a bad influence on her.
Emily Dickinson has had a major influence on his poetry.

Recent Examples of influence from the Web

The main fault-line is between Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who has deftly balanced both Iranian and American influence, and other Shiite politicians seen as closer to Iran.

— Washington Post, "Iraqi vote offers chance to chart post-IS future," 8 May 2018
The main fault-line is between Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who has deftly balanced both Iranian and American influence, and other Shiite politicians seen as closer to Iran.

— Fox News, "Iraqi vote offers chance to chart post-IS future," 8 May 2018
All this free personalization comes at a price: these services count on users handing over even more data about themselves and their lives, and on Google mining that data, giving the search giant more influence and control over our daily choices.

— nitasha tiku, WIRED, "The Price of Google's New Conveniences? Your Data," 8 May 2018
Beijing also sees Iran as a vital notch in its Belt and Road project to spread Chinese influence and commerce westwards.

— tim lister, CNN, "The earthquake unleashed by Trump's departure from Iran nuclear deal," 8 May 2018
But real influence — and the creativity behind it — isn’t neatly measured by follower count.

— Allure, "Allure Incubator: Here Are 5 of Beauty's Newest Stars to Watch," 7 May 2018
DUI Tomasz Styrczula, 30, of the 13700 block of Meath Drive, Homer Glen, was charged with driving under the influence and improper lane use at 12:26 a.m. April 27 at Route 83 and Riverside Drive.

— graydon megan, chicagotribune.com, "Elmhurst police blotter: Two locked bicycles reported stolen near Metra station," 4 May 2018
The winning followup to 2016’s charming Leave Me Alone mixes girl-group, garage and 1990s indie-rock influences and was recorded with Stokes and Regina Spektor producer Gordon Raphael.

— dan deluca, Philly.com, "Dan DeLuca's Mix Picks: Hinds, Marion Hill, The Slits movie and The Bul Bey," 3 May 2018
Among specific attributes, country males and females are held in similar regard in such traits as likability, influence and social media savvy.

— tom roland, Billboard, "Nielsen Study Touts Financial Power Of Women In Country: 'They Really Set the Bar in Terms of Marketability'," 2 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'influence.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The Surprising History of Influence and Its Modern Use

Influence may seem like a ho-hum word, but its history is heavenly.

The word first referred to a celestial fluid that was believed to flow from the stars. As this fluid reached the Earth, it supposedly affected the actions of the planet's inhabitants—especially the human ones. (The word influenza has the same origin: the Medieval Latin word influentia. It was for a time believed that epidemics were caused by unusual conjunctions of the planets.)

In modern use, the noun typically refers to the power to change or affect someone or something—especially the power to cause changes without directly forcing those changes to happen. Influence can also refer to a person or thing that affects someone or something in an important way.

The noun had been in use for more than 200 years before the verb use developed. As a verb, influence typically means "to affect or change someone or something in an indirect but usually important way." Something or someone that influences a person or thing, then, has an influence on that person or thing.

Origin and Etymology of influence

Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin influentia, from Latin influent-, influens, present participle of influere to flow in, from in- + fluere to flow — more at fluid

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

influence Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of influence

influence, authority, prestige, weight, credit mean power exerted over the minds or behavior of others. influence may apply to a force exercised and received consciously or unconsciously.

- used her influence to get the bill passed

authority implies the power of winning devotion or allegiance or of compelling acceptance and belief.

- his opinions lacked authority

prestige implies the ascendancy given by conspicuous excellence or reputation for superiority.

- the prestige of the newspaper

weight implies measurable or decisive influence in determining acts or choices.

- their wishes obviously carried much weight

credit suggests influence that arises from the confidence of others.

- his credit with the press

influence

verb

Definition of influence

influenced; influencing

transitive verb

1 : to affect or alter by indirect or intangible means

She attempted to influence his decision.

greatly influenced by my parents

2 : to have an effect on the condition or development of

Productivity was influenced by worker satisfaction.

—

influenceable

play \ˈin-ˌflü-ən(t)-sə-bəl\ adjective

- In the situation where performance measures are not seen as influenceable, there is little chance of the person seeing a connection between his effort and his rewards.
- —Lyman W. Porter et al.

—

influencer

noun, plural influencers

- The old theme of laziness and mellowness runs counter to today's influencers, who are businesspeople and upscale inspirational promoters of a go-getter way of life.
- —John C. Dvorak

See influence defined for English-language learners

Examples of influence in a Sentence

I was deeply influenced by my parents.
She claims that her decision to resign was not influenced by her personal problems.
No one knows how this decision will influence the outcome of the election.
He's accused of illegally attempting to influence the jury.

Recent Examples of influence from the Web

Plus, most Alzheimer’s patients also have vascular dementia or other problem proteins, factors that influence which drugs might work and how progress is monitored.

— stacey burling, Philly.com, "Is Alzheimer's disease the next frontier for precision medicine?," 8 May 2018
The results held true even after accounting for other health and lifestyle factors that could influence stroke risk, such as high cholesterol, smoking and diabetes, according to the study.

— jamie ducharme, Time, "Here's Another Reason Saunas Are So Good For You," 2 May 2018
Heat flow is a fundamental quantity that influences the physics of a planet's interior.

— emily lakdawalla, Popular Mechanics, "Meet InSight: The Mission To Measure Marsquakes and Unlock the Red Planet," 30 Apr. 2018
The other thing that influences vigor of plant growth is pruning, so refer to a video on pruning blueberries.

— OregonLive.com, "Should I pinch off blueberry blossoms? What fertilizer is best? Ask an expert," 28 Apr. 2018
For instance, the league could have issued fines or suspensions, or pressured Richardson to sell the team—a move that would influence the value of the minority ownership interests.

— michael mccann, SI.com, "Fallout from Latest Allegations Against Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson," 26 Apr. 2018
Melissa testified, an act that would have exposed her to possible retribution and that undoubtedly influenced her decision to leave.

— vanessa gregory, New York Times, "A Lynching’s Long Shadow," 25 Apr. 2018
Climate is a variable that could influence culture, so taking that issue out of the equation could answer the question of whether colder climes induce individualism.

— dennis normile, Science | AAAS, "Your behavior in Starbucks may reveal more about you than you think," 25 Apr. 2018
In 1968, the year Intel opened shop, a psychology professor at the University of Maryland cast a theory that surely influenced Andy Grove.

— john doerr, WIRED, "When John Doerr Brought a ‘Gift’ to Google’s Founders," 24 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of influence

1658

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

influence Synonyms

Synonyms

affect, impact, impress, move, reach, strike, sway, tell (on), touch;

Near Antonyms

bore, jade, pall, tire, weary;

underwhelm;

bias, color;

inspire, stir;

engage, interest, involve, penetrate, pierce;

afflict, agitate, bother, concern, discomfort, discompose, disquiet, distress, disturb, fluster, harass, harry, perturb, pester, plague, smite, strain, stress, trouble, try, upset, worry, wring;

allure, attract, bewitch, captivate, charm, enchant, fascinate;

Phrases

get to;

Synonym Discussion of influence

affect, influence, touch, impress, strike, sway mean to produce or have an effect upon. affect implies the action of a stimulus that can produce a response or reaction.

- the sight affected her to tears

influence implies a force that brings about a change (as in nature or behavior).

- our beliefs are influenced by our upbringing

touch may carry a vivid suggestion of close contact and may connote stirring, arousing, or harming.

- plants touched by frost
- his emotions were touched by her distress

impress stresses the depth and persistence of the effect.

- only one of the plans impressed him

strike, similar to but weaker than impress, may convey the notion of sudden sharp perception or appreciation.

- struck by the solemnity of the occasion

sway implies the acting of influences that are not resisted or are irresistible, with resulting change in character or course of action.

- politicians who are swayed by popular opinion

INFLUENCE Defined for English Language Learners

influence

noun

Definition of influence for English Language Learners

: the power to change or affect someone or something : the power to cause changes without directly forcing them to happen
: a person or thing that affects someone or something in an important way

influence

verb

Definition of influence for English Language Learners

: to affect or change (someone or something) in an indirect but usually important way : to have an influence on (someone or something)

INFLUENCE Defined for Kids

influence

noun in·flu·ence \ ˈin-ˌflü-əns \

Definition of influence for Students

1 : the act or power of causing an effect or change without use of direct force or authority

You could move to some other part of Mexico, but … Luis's influence is far-reaching.
—Pam Muñoz Ryan,

2 : a person or thing that has an indirect but usually important effect

She's a bad influence on him.

influence

verb

Definition of influence for Students

influenced; influencing

: to affect or change in an indirect but usually important way I was influenced by my parents.

Law Dictionary

influence

noun in·flu·ence

legal Definition of influence

1 a : the act or power of producing an effect without any apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command

b : corrupt interference with authority for personal gain

2 : the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or intangible ways

3 : one that exerts influence

—

influencer

noun

— under the influence

: affected by alcohol or another intoxicant

was arrested for driving under the influence

influence

transitive verb

legal Definition of influence

influenced; influencing

1 : to alter or affect by indirect or intangible means

the exemption would allow a conglomerate that owns both a media business and an unrelated business to influence or control the media
—Citizens United v. Federal Election Commʼn, 130 S. Ct. 876 (2010)

2 : to have an effect on the condition or development of

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influence

Definition of influence

Examples of influence in a Sentence

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The Surprising History of Influence and Its Modern Use

Origin and Etymology of influence

influence Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Synonym Discussion of influence

influence

Definition of influence

influenceable

influencer

Examples of influence in a Sentence

Recent Examples of influence from the Web

First Known Use of influence

influence Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Phrases

Synonym Discussion of influence

Phrases Related to INFLUENCE

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INFLUENCE Defined for English Language Learners

influence

Definition of influence for English Language Learners

influence

Definition of influence for English Language Learners

INFLUENCE Defined for Kids

influence

Definition of influence for Students

influence

Definition of influence for Students

Law Dictionary

influence

legal Definition of influence

influencer

influence

legal Definition of influence

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