as in influence
the power to direct the thinking or behavior of others usually indirectly
lacking much of the leverage it once had, the union is now being forced to make some concessions
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to use
to take unfair advantage of
a reality show contestant who's trying to leverage her 15 minutes of fame
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of leverage
U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2026
Murphy explained the scale of the move has forced the market to rethink where the real leverage in energy resides.
—Krysta Escobar, CNBC, 25 Apr. 2026
Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 24 Apr. 2026
Oklo is likely to gain even more steam as the nuclear energy firm leverages support from the federal government to accelerate its nuclear reactor business, according to HSBC.
—Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for leverage
Noun
This suggests that Amodei believed Anthropic had more leverage on the Pentagon than the Pentagon had on it — the CEO of a company founded just five years ago shrugging off a threat from the world’s most powerful and best-funded entity.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2026
Murphy explained the scale of the move has forced the market to rethink where the real leverage in energy resides.
—Krysta Escobar, CNBC, 25 Apr. 2026
Verb
Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote unveiled plans to build a crude oil refinery in Tanzania that would replicate the output of his giant plant in Lagos to leverage continent-wide calls for greater self-sufficiency after the Iran war exposed Africa’s vulnerabilities.
—Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 24 Apr. 2026
Oklo is likely to gain even more steam as the nuclear energy firm leverages support from the federal government to accelerate its nuclear reactor business, according to HSBC.
—Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for leverage
Recent Examples of Synonyms for leverage
Noun
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Foreign adversaries such as the CCP use a wide range of tools to project influence inside the United States, from academic partnerships and intellectual property theft to land acquisition, supply chain leverage and political lobbying.—
Joe Gebbia Sr,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
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The Seoul High Court said that a first lady, being closest to a president, represents the country together with her husband and has a big influence on him.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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First, locate the radiant to the left of the waning moon using a handy smartphone stargazing app.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
2 May 2026
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For Love in the Time of Cholera, 1989, for instance, Pau uses early Picture-in-Picture (PiP) technology to frame clips from Zuni’s 1988 October/Decameron stage performance, which then float, rotate, and cascade across the screen.—
Pauline J. Yao,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
Noun
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But the bills didn’t have support from law enforcement, which wields significant sway in the Capitol.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
30 Apr. 2026
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No judges, no editorial sway, just the crowd’s consensus.—
Wendy Naugle,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Kremlin is also exploiting frictions between the United States and Europe over the latter’s reservations about the Iran war.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2026
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China is currently exploiting its salt lakes to source potassium and lithium.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, college and professional athletes have also been caught trying to manipulate prediction markets as online sports betting has exploded.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
2 May 2026
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For decades, people have used tools such as Photoshop to manipulate digital imagery.—
Lila Shroff,
The Atlantic,
2 May 2026
Verb
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According to Lewkowitz, if a grower abuses the soil, the system ceases to be viable, leaving zero likelihood of success from a sustainability standpoint.—
Arthur Zaczkiewicz,
Footwear News,
27 Apr. 2026
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Intermediate scrutiny is why men abuse women at such high rates and get away with it.—
Wendy Murphy,
Boston Herald,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Leverage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leverage. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
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