as in influenced
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1
as in affected
to act upon (a person or a person's feelings) so as to cause a response
how can you not be swayed by that precious kitten, meowing as if to say, "Please take me home with you?"
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lurched
to make a series of unsteady side-to-side motions
the way the ski lift was swaying in the wind made me nervous
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3
as in ruled
archaic
to exercise authority or power over
an epic novel set in the days when Rome swayed the Western world
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Recent Examples of swayed
Theoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 6 Apr. 2026
When betting on a startup’s future potential, Graham is typically more swayed by his impression of its founders than the idea behind their business, the co-founder of startup accelerator Y Combinator wrote in a series of posts on social media platform X on August 10.
—Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 18 Aug. 2025
Business executives, at least some, are less swayed by the hype and more level-headed about the costs and benefits of using AI.
—Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 2 Apr. 2026
Steinbrenner made clear that the Yankees would stay in New York and not be swayed with a shiny new stadium in the Meadowlands where the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets would go on to play.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 1 Apr. 2026
Eventually, he was swayed into the concept and has since interviewed his friends, rivals, and teammates and coaches from his career.
—Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Apr. 2026
People swayed to Cléopâtre's music on Sunday, with some singing along and blowing her kisses, while performers in colorful clothes danced on stage.
—ABC News, 30 Mar. 2026
Cornejo, the community activist who attended the meeting in Guadalupe, read the reversal as a sign that Sheridan was too easily swayed and could not be trusted without court oversight.
—Rafael Carranza, ProPublica, 26 Mar. 2026
No insurer—and no Iranian—will be swayed by more threats.
—Jim Edwards, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2026
Marcel In the heat of the afternoon, the Fort Worth blues singer Marcel — as in Brandon Marcel, a close collaborator and backing singer for Leon Bridges — crooned his way through a half-hour set while Bridges swayed and applauded from the side of the stage.
—Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2026
In such cases, a regulator swayed by ideological impulses can do lasting damage.
—Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
As fans stood for the opening run, a sprawling 23-piece backing ensemble — including six band members, eight backing vocalists plus returning Church muse Joanna Cotten, and a mini-orchestra with four horns and four strings — some swayed.
—Theoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 6 Apr. 2026
When betting on a startup’s future potential, Graham is typically more swayed by his impression of its founders than the idea behind their business, the co-founder of startup accelerator Y Combinator wrote in a series of posts on social media platform X on August 10.
—Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 18 Aug. 2025
Business executives, at least some, are less swayed by the hype and more level-headed about the costs and benefits of using AI.
—Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025
Verb
But Joy isn’t swayed by his appeal.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 2 Apr. 2026
Steinbrenner made clear that the Yankees would stay in New York and not be swayed with a shiny new stadium in the Meadowlands where the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets would go on to play.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 1 Apr. 2026
Eventually, he was swayed into the concept and has since interviewed his friends, rivals, and teammates and coaches from his career.
—Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Apr. 2026
People swayed to Cléopâtre's music on Sunday, with some singing along and blowing her kisses, while performers in colorful clothes danced on stage.
—ABC News, 30 Mar. 2026
Cornejo, the community activist who attended the meeting in Guadalupe, read the reversal as a sign that Sheridan was too easily swayed and could not be trusted without court oversight.
—Rafael Carranza, ProPublica, 26 Mar. 2026
No insurer—and no Iranian—will be swayed by more threats.
—Jim Edwards, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2026
Marcel In the heat of the afternoon, the Fort Worth blues singer Marcel — as in Brandon Marcel, a close collaborator and backing singer for Leon Bridges — crooned his way through a half-hour set while Bridges swayed and applauded from the side of the stage.
—Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2026
In such cases, a regulator swayed by ideological impulses can do lasting damage.
—Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 20 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swayed
Verb
-
Talk about the importance of having your team drive classic Jaguars and how that influenced the engineering of the GT.—
Morgan Korn,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Visions such as Verne’s influenced most of the engineers and scientists that made human spaceflight possible, such as Robert Goddard and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, who believed that humanity’s destiny is in the stars.—
Anastasia Klimchynskaya,
The Conversation,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Don’t gag, don’t cry — and my stomach lurched.—
Kate Crane,
Rolling Stone,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Since then, the larger culture has lurched rightward, with big corporations abandoning progressive signaling in favor of…other priorities.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The school sued, contending that its methods were legitimate, and the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in its favor.—
Dhruv Khullar,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
-
In the sixth, Fried picked off Heriberto Hernández, who initially was ruled safe by first base umpire Tom Hanahan.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Fees for long-haul international flights are not affected.—
Rio Yamat,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Apr. 2026
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One resident, Jason Hale, said his car was among roughly 30 affected by crowds in Chicago that night.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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At the other end of the spectrum, Nicholas Hoult subtly flexed a rose-gold Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso with an elegant Milanese bracelet courtside at a Lakers game and John Mulaney rocked the rare Gérald Genta Geneva Minute Repeater on the streets of New York.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
4 Apr. 2026
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In the most lopsided home opener loss in Colorado history, Lorenzen — who pitched for the Phillies in the second half of 2023 following a deadline trade from Detroit — got rocked.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
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For the first time in nearly a generation, Viktor Orbán, who has governed the country continuously since 2010, appears genuinely vincible.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Such a topic is not governed by antitrust law, which concerns commercial activities.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Tommie and her family were later convinced to move to the federal Indian reservation in what is now Hollywood, according to a Sun Sentinel news article from 2015.—
Scott Travis,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Apr. 2026
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Friedman, best known for his work on economic mobility with the Harvard economist Raj Chetty, has become convinced that the most important thing a student gets from an Ivy Plus education isn’t instruction or prestige or even connections.—
Rose Horowitch,
The Atlantic,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
There has been a similar situation with Gerard Martin, who has really impressed as a centre-back this season, converted from his previous role as backup left-back.—
Laia Cervelló Herrero,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Philo has operated more efficiently in 11-on-11 settings and impressed with his instincts as a runner.—
Edgar Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Swayed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swayed. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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