as in influenced
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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?"
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in ruled
archaic
to exercise authority or power over
an epic novel set in the days when Rome swayed the Western world
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
Jen Murphy, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 May 2026
According to the court, Hill made comments that could have swayed how jurors viewed the evidence and pushed them toward a guilty verdict.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 14 May 2026
Fish darted among the corals that swayed with the currents; shells rested on the sandy bottom.
—ABC News, 14 May 2026
But today, the deep fly ball and the last out of the seventh inning — that could have really swayed my ERA.
—Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
The board was not swayed by the opposition, with the senators voting unanimously to advance D’Adamo’s nomination for a vote by the full body.
—Andrew Graham
may 12, Sacbee.com, 12 May 2026
The Dutch were swayed in part by the weather.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 12 May 2026
Ultimately, the bond market is sending a message about the economy, and it isn’t swayed by trendy narratives, Malek said.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 9 May 2026
Trump condemned Roberts and the five other justices who ruled against him on tariffs and made an unsubstantiated claim that the court was swayed by foreign interests.
—Andrew Chung, USA Today, 7 May 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 during the aufguss ceremony at BASIN Glacial Waters, people smiled and laughed and swayed to the music, and Kyan’s dance-like towel moves distracted me from the discomfort of the heat.
—Jen Murphy, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 May 2026
According to the court, Hill made comments that could have swayed how jurors viewed the evidence and pushed them toward a guilty verdict.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 14 May 2026
Fish darted among the corals that swayed with the currents; shells rested on the sandy bottom.
—ABC News, 14 May 2026
But today, the deep fly ball and the last out of the seventh inning — that could have really swayed my ERA.
—Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
The board was not swayed by the opposition, with the senators voting unanimously to advance D’Adamo’s nomination for a vote by the full body.
—Andrew Graham
may 12, Sacbee.com, 12 May 2026
The Dutch were swayed in part by the weather.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 12 May 2026
Ultimately, the bond market is sending a message about the economy, and it isn’t swayed by trendy narratives, Malek said.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 9 May 2026
Trump condemned Roberts and the five other justices who ruled against him on tariffs and made an unsubstantiated claim that the court was swayed by foreign interests.
—Andrew Chung, USA Today, 7 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swayed
Verb
-
Emotional exhaustion can be influenced by structural factors, and decision quality is often associated with these conditions in how information is distributed and processed within a system.—
Nia Bowers,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
-
Aya Adachi, an associate fellow at the Center for Geopolitics, Geoeconomics and Technology of the German Council on Foreign Relations, noted that global automotive competition is being gradually influenced by China’s rapid growth in electric vehicle production.—
Justina Lee,
CNBC,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
So between those two things, the balance of gerrymanders has lurched pretty abruptly toward the right.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
15 May 2026
-
Meanwhile, federal policy has lurched in opposite directions.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Fortune,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Persephone, goddess of spring and the fields, became the spouse of Hades, who ruled the underworld.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
-
Hundreds of millions of dollars for securing the White House ballroom cannot be included in a Republican spending bill as currently written, the Senate parliamentarian ruled Saturday.—
Riley Beggin,
Washington Post,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
Only voters whose ballots were sent before May 14 are affected by the error.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
19 May 2026
-
The district is making counselors available to all students and families affected by the tragedy.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
The judiciary said Shahbakhsh carried out his attacks during protests that rocked Iran in 2022 and 2023 following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurdish woman.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 May 2026
-
The cruise ship rocked by an unprecedented Andes hantavirus outbreak arrived in the Canary Islands off the coast of Tenerife Island over the weekend and is being evacuated.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
This means it’s governed entirely by the Labour Party’s own rules, and Starmer would remain prime minister while a contest takes place.—
Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
14 May 2026
-
At the time of the purchase, Pac Bell wasn’t obliged to pay property taxes on the building due to rules that governed Pac Bell at the time.—
George Avalos,
Mercury News,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
No one's really convinced that either the parties have an answer here.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
17 May 2026
-
More than 100 days after Guthrie vanished, authorities have not publicly identified a suspect or announced an arrest, but Nanos says investigators remain convinced the case can still be solved.—
Danielle Bacher,
PEOPLE,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Poulin also has been impressed with Kouba’s work in the batter’s box.—
Rick Armstrong,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
-
His tenure in Philadelphia has been far from perfect (a 116-130 regular-season record), but team sources say the ownership group has been impressed with the way Nurse galvanized the roster this season.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Swayed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swayed. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
