influential

1 of 2

adjective

in·​flu·​en·​tial ˌin-(ˌ)flü-ˈen(t)-shəl How to pronounce influential (audio)
: exerting or possessing influence
influentially adverb

influential

2 of 2

noun

: one who has great influence

Examples of influential in a Sentence

Adjective His theories have become more influential in recent years. My parents have been the most influential people in my life.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
In addition to San Pablo, tenant groups led by the influential Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment are also coordinating signature gathering pushes in Redwood City, Pittsburg and Larkspur. Ethan Varian, The Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2024 Less than a week after the arrests of more than 100 protesters at Columbia, administrators at some of the country’s most influential universities were struggling, and largely failing, to calm campuses torn by the conflict in Gaza and Israel. Alan Blinder, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024 Many of these countries have indeed outperformed the seeming impediment of their size, leveraging their locations, local talent, ingenuity, natural resources, and other advantages to build dynamic economies and often play influential roles in regional geopolitics. Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024 Since starting her YouTube channel in 2009, Aina has become one of the most influential voices in the beauty and lifestyle space. Katcy Stephan, Variety, 22 Apr. 2024 Thus began a tale of abandonment and rescue as several, successive influential admirers saved the book from pulping. Eugene Linden, TIME, 21 Apr. 2024 Helium – Pirate Prude EP After forming the influential Washington, D.C. band Autoclave as a teenager, Mary Timony moved to Boston for college and formed Helium. Al Shipley, SPIN, 21 Apr. 2024 In 2020, following an American drone strike that killed influential Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani, Tehran launched ballistic missiles at a base in western Iraq housingU.S. forces. Dan Lamothe, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024 Advertisement After their recording session, LeBrun passed Biggie’s demo tape along to a contact at the Source, landing the rapper in the magazine’s influential Unsigned Hype column. Malia Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Noun
To secure support from the elders and influentials, potential parliamentarians were reputed to have paid tens of thousands of dollars for a vote. Vanda Felbab-Brown, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2017 The pattern began in the Russian leader’s earliest days, when Boris A. Berezovsky, an oligarch influential in Mr. Putin’s rise, ran afoul of him and fled, treated for years as a public enemy before his death in Britain in 2013 under murky circumstances. Paul Sonne, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2023 As the president of Hillsdale College in Michigan, a small school influential in modern conservative thought, Arnn had grown accustomed to books and letters from Republican strivers. Matt Flegenheimer, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2022 But in the two months since the law went into effect, many of the biggest ticket marketplaces in the live industry aren’t following the new law, a state senator influential in its passing says. Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone, 7 Nov. 2022 Turcer, whose organization is part of a speaker’s bureau in which people talk about the judiciary across the state to increase interest in the influential but often overlooked branch, doesn’t completely write off the Republican justices’ concerns. cleveland, 9 May 2022 Most of them were coached by Brewer, a former Negro Leagues star who became an influential — if often overlooked — part of baseball’s history. Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2022 Opposing the legislation is the Association of County Commissions of Alabama (ACCA), which is another powerful organization influential in Montgomery. al, 22 Dec. 2021 For the influential and the politically connected, an empty Carbone’s is a sign of an era passing. Susan Dunne, courant.com, 9 Dec. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'influential.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1570, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1831, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of influential was in 1570

Dictionary Entries Near influential

Cite this Entry

“Influential.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/influential. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

influential

adjective
in·​flu·​en·​tial
ˌin-(ˌ)flü-ˈen-chəl
: having influence
influentially
-ˈench-(ə-)lē
adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on influential

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