1
as in authoritative
having power over the minds or behavior of others
in light of the effect that they have had, religious leaders such as Jesus and Muḥammad must be regarded as among the most influential people ever
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in powerful
having great power or influence
a particularly influential politician got the team a new ballpark
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of influential
Aguilar is one of the most influential voices in contemporary Mexican music — a bridge between deep tradition and global modernity.
—
William Earl, Variety, 10 Oct. 2025
Moore’s equally influential play helped catalyze and inspire the wave of recent signings, including Napheesa Collier, fellow native of Jefferson City, Missouri, who happens to play for the Minnesota Lynx.
—Devin Robertson, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Under Nuno, Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson were consistently the two most important, most influential players.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
The Massachusetts native launched Barstool Sports in 2003 as a free sports-betting paper for Boston bars and turned it into one of the most influential media brands in the country.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for influential
William Earl, Variety, 10 Oct. 2025
Moore’s equally influential play helped catalyze and inspire the wave of recent signings, including Napheesa Collier, fellow native of Jefferson City, Missouri, who happens to play for the Minnesota Lynx.
—Devin Robertson, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Under Nuno, Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson were consistently the two most important, most influential players.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
The Massachusetts native launched Barstool Sports in 2003 as a free sports-betting paper for Boston bars and turned it into one of the most influential media brands in the country.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for influential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for influential
Adjective
-
While Efraimoglou is bold and authoritative, Vandorou is quiet and reflective.—
Janine Di Giovanni,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Oct. 2025
-
The Red List, produced by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is the most authoritative global assessment of extinction risk of species.—
Nell Lewis,
CNN Money,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The powerful currents of flash floods can carry drivers off the road.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Oct. 2025
-
In many respects, CDMS users receive the powerful anti-ship capabilities of a surface warfare vessel worth many hundreds of millions of dollars for just a tiny fraction of that price.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Tire tread depth - Checking your tire tread before hitting the road is important, as low or no tread can lead to sliding.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Oct. 2025
-
While the jury is out on the exact cause of Harry Potter’s enduring popularity, Beach and Willner highlight an important point in its favor.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Beane, however, had better hope his incoming defensive reinforcements make a significant push to keep 2025 on the Super Bowl track.—
Tim Graham,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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The university’s recent efforts in using real-time analysis of digital medical records to predict sepsis, a deadly blood infection, in emergency department patients have garnered significant national attention.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Yes, the title challengers were dominant on home turf, but the statistics suggest Perri should have kept the score down.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
-
The Los Angeles Dodgers, after silencing the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-1, Tuesday night in front of a subdued crowd at American Family Field, are putting on one of the most dominant pitching clinics in the league.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Politically, the affluence manifested in Long Island establishing itself as a bastion of the Republican Party, showing strong support for Hoover in his doomed Presidential campaign against Roosevelt.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
18 Oct. 2025
-
Since Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012, Chinese stories have increasingly included nods to Chinese nationalist (not just communist) soldiers fighting bravely, thus placing a strong, victorious, and morally righteous China at the forefront of the postwar global order.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
18 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Influential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/influential. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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