as in lilting
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1
as in affecting
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 lurching
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 governing
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.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Recent Examples of swaying
Anna Haines,
Vogue,
23 Sep. 2025
ABC News,
24 June 2026
While Kesteloo is used to traveling at sea, the rocking and swaying of the boat might affect you differently.
—
Alyssa Grabinski,
PEOPLE,
23 June 2026
Naturally, all eyes were on Swift for much of the night, and the unapologetic fan of popular music did not disappoint — singing along, cheering, swaying, even holding on to her guy for brief moments.
—
Shirley Halperin,
Rolling Stone,
12 June 2026
No, in these cases, there wasn’t any successful swaying of opinion.
—
Torie Bosch,
STAT,
1 June 2026
There’s an ever present sense of the air moving, seen in the grass swaying and the smoke drifting.
—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Apr. 2026
Chisora would react by dipping and swaying.
—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
5 Apr. 2026
Tuesday night’s elections further showed the swaying power that Latinx voters can have.
—
Carlos De Loera,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Everyone sat down around a fire pit, except for Land, who stood, face lit from below, gesturing and swaying.
—
James Duesterberg,
New Yorker,
18 Feb. 2026
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
25 June 2026
Venezuela residents reeling from quakes During the quakes, people ran from swaying buildings.
—
Megan Janetsky,
Chicago Tribune,
25 June 2026
The receiver hangs by its silver cord, swaying slightly in the wake of someone passing by.
—
Ashley Andreou,
STAT,
22 June 2026
The Cantina café has tables beneath the olive trees, wicker lampshades swaying above.
—
Adrienne Wyper,
TheWeek,
22 June 2026
Landing on a swaying vessel is difficult, and many drones need to hover while calculating how the landing area is tilting.
—
New Atlas,
18 June 2026
Lewis set a Guinness World Record for slackline surfing, swaying his feet side to side in a rocking motion that mimics surfing, while keeping his balance above China’s Diaoshuilou waterfall in 2011.
—
Russ Bynum,
Los Angeles Times,
16 June 2026
Lewis set a Guinness World Record for slackline surfing, swaying his feet side to side in a rocking motion that mimics surfing, while keeping his balance above China's Diaoshuilou waterfall in 2011.
—
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Lewis set a Guinness World Record for slackline surfing, swaying his feet side to side in a rocking motion that mimics surfing, while keeping his balance above China’s Diaoshuilou waterfall in 2011.
—
Russ Bynum,
CNN Money,
15 June 2026
Adjective
As the sun set below blush clouds, the gently swaying crowd matched the R&B singer’s sultry energy.
—
Anna Haines,
Vogue,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
People evacuated swaying buildings and homes in the capital, Caracas.
—
ABC News,
24 June 2026
While Kesteloo is used to traveling at sea, the rocking and swaying of the boat might affect you differently.
—
Alyssa Grabinski,
PEOPLE,
23 June 2026
Naturally, all eyes were on Swift for much of the night, and the unapologetic fan of popular music did not disappoint — singing along, cheering, swaying, even holding on to her guy for brief moments.
—
Shirley Halperin,
Rolling Stone,
12 June 2026
No, in these cases, there wasn’t any successful swaying of opinion.
—
Torie Bosch,
STAT,
1 June 2026
There’s an ever present sense of the air moving, seen in the grass swaying and the smoke drifting.
—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Apr. 2026
Chisora would react by dipping and swaying.
—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
5 Apr. 2026
Tuesday night’s elections further showed the swaying power that Latinx voters can have.
—
Carlos De Loera,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Everyone sat down around a fire pit, except for Land, who stood, face lit from below, gesturing and swaying.
—
James Duesterberg,
New Yorker,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
In her two-story home, lamps and other objects began swaying violently.
—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
25 June 2026
Venezuela residents reeling from quakes During the quakes, people ran from swaying buildings.
—
Megan Janetsky,
Chicago Tribune,
25 June 2026
The receiver hangs by its silver cord, swaying slightly in the wake of someone passing by.
—
Ashley Andreou,
STAT,
22 June 2026
The Cantina café has tables beneath the olive trees, wicker lampshades swaying above.
—
Adrienne Wyper,
TheWeek,
22 June 2026
Landing on a swaying vessel is difficult, and many drones need to hover while calculating how the landing area is tilting.
—
New Atlas,
18 June 2026
Lewis set a Guinness World Record for slackline surfing, swaying his feet side to side in a rocking motion that mimics surfing, while keeping his balance above China’s Diaoshuilou waterfall in 2011.
—
Russ Bynum,
Los Angeles Times,
16 June 2026
Lewis set a Guinness World Record for slackline surfing, swaying his feet side to side in a rocking motion that mimics surfing, while keeping his balance above China's Diaoshuilou waterfall in 2011.
—
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Lewis set a Guinness World Record for slackline surfing, swaying his feet side to side in a rocking motion that mimics surfing, while keeping his balance above China’s Diaoshuilou waterfall in 2011.
—
Russ Bynum,
CNN Money,
15 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swaying
Adjective
-
Dry farmed and organically grown, this sauvignon blanc is zesty, fresh and lilting with lovely notes of wet stone and citrus.
-
What Doremus has done though, is to make his own thing with a similar concept, a film greatly enhanced by the lilting presence of Clarke, who is wonderful in this role(s), showing us the glory of fate, and its price.
Noun
-
Nicolas Matthew Scelfo of Brooklyn, New York, faces up to 10 years in prison after being charged with influencing, impeding, and retaliating against a federal officer by threat.
-
Seven states have now passed legislation to regulate family influencing, but these laws mostly just ensure that parents set aside a percentage of earnings to compensate their children.
Verb
-
The incentive to upgrade has collapsed, lengthening the replacement cycle and affecting the Mac platform’s high-margin retail sales.
-
Record high temperatures across Europe, Asia and the US are affecting travelers during the peak season.
Verb
-
The old guard of the Democratic Party suffered another body blow when three socialist congressional candidates in New York with anti-Israel platforms swept to victory, lurching the party even further to the left.
-
When Colombia heads to the polls June 21, the region will be watching to see if the nation joins the right-wing surge across Latin America, with Chile, Honduras, and Costa Rica lurching to the political right over the past year.
Verb
-
But with a few exceptions, there are no universal regulations governing adventure tourism or extreme sports.
-
The campaign blitz comes against a backdrop of bipartisan consensus that Congress needs to set more rules governing AI and the powerful companies developing it.
Adjective
-
Fans of the musical may also recognize some familiar pieces when the production arrives in Denver.
-
Swanky Kitchen Band, named after our traditional local lemonade, is the keeper of Kitchen Music, which is a musical tradition native to the Cayman Islands.
Noun
-
One of its executives, Anderson, defined agentic treasury as a control system for the movement of money, software that does not merely advise a treasurer but acts, moving cash between accounts, settling invoices, hedging a currency exposure, all with little human prompting.
-
The agent can run programs and complete requests without constant prompting.
Verb
-
Radek Vitek, 22, could also depart either permanently or on loan in search of regular playing time after impressing on loan at Championship club Bristol City.
-
And nobody should worry about impressing the chef.
Cite this Entry
“Swaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swaying. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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