Need another word that means the same as “sway”? Find 72 synonyms and 30 related words for “sway” in this overview.
The synonyms of “Sway” are: rock, shake, carry, persuade, swing, oscillate, undulate, move from side to side, move to and fro, move back and forth, stagger, wobble, lurch, reel, roll, list, stumble, pitch, keel, veer, swerve, waver, fluctuate, vacillate, alternate, vary, see-saw, equivocate, hesitate, go from one extreme to the other, influence, affect, bias, prevail on, bring round, talk round, win over, convert, rule, govern, dominate, control, direct, guide, careen, tilt, sweep, wave, movement, oscillation, undulation, jurisdiction, government, sovereignty, dominion, command, power, authority, ascendancy, domination, mastery, supremacy, leadership, direction, leverage
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “sway” as a noun can have the following definitions:
| ascendancy | The state that exists when one person or group has power over another. The ascendancy of good over evil. |
| authority | A book or other source able to supply reliable information or evidence. This book is the final authority on the life of Milton. |
| careen | Pitching dangerously to one side. |
| command | The power or authority to command. He had a brilliant command of English. |
| control | The economic policy of controlling or limiting or curbing prices or wages etc. He had the chance to take the controls and fly the glider. |
| direction | Something that provides direction or advice as to a decision or course of action. A new council was installed under the direction of the king. |
| dominion | A region marked off for administrative or other purposes. Man s attempt to establish dominion over nature. |
| government | Government the system or form by which a community or other political unit is governed. He had considerable experience of government. |
| influence | One having power to influence another. I was still under the influence of my parents. |
| jurisdiction | The right and power to interpret and apply the law. Courts having jurisdiction in this district. |
| leadership | The state or position of being a leader. The party prospered under his leadership. |
| leverage | Mechanical advantage gained by leverage. Relatively small groups can sometimes exert immense political leverage. |
| mastery | The action of mastering a subject or skill. Mastery of the seas. |
| movement | A campaign undertaken by a political social or artistic movement. Politicians have to respect a mass movement. |
| oscillation | A regular periodic variation in value about a mean. Electromagnetic oscillations. |
| power | A very wealthy or powerful businessman. The party had been in power for eight years. |
| rock | A mass of rock projecting above the earth s surface or out of the sea. Rock is a generic term for the range of styles that evolved out of rock n roll. |
| roll | A gymnastic exercise in which a person tucks their head down and rolls their body in a forward or backwards circle on the floor. I used my momentum and tucked into a roll. |
| rule | Linguistics a rule describing or prescribing a linguistic practice. The rules of cricket. |
| shake | A milkshake. Don t miss the homemade cookies and shakes. |
| sovereignty | Royal authority; the dominion of a monarch. National sovereignty. |
| supremacy | The state or condition of being superior to all others in authority, power, or status. The supremacy of the king. |
| sweep | An act of sweeping something with a brush. A grandiose sweep of his hand. |
| swing | Mechanical device used as a plaything to support someone swinging back and forth. The party went with a swing. |
| tilt | A combat between two mounted knights tilting against each other with blunted lances. A tilt at the European Cup. |
| undulation | Wavelike motion; a gentle rising and falling in the manner of waves. The soft undulation of the waves animates the scene. |
| wave | A shape regarded as resembling a breaking wave. He gave a little wave and walked off. |
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “sway” as a verb can have the following definitions:
| affect | Connect closely and often incriminatingly. He was visibly affected by the tragedy. |
| alternate | Be an understudy or alternate for a role. Bouts of depression alternate with periods of elation. |
| bias | Cause to be biased. Readers said the paper was biased towards the Conservatives. |
| bring round | Go or come after and bring or take back. |
| carry | Approve (a proposed measure) by a majority of votes. 550 shops carry the basic range. |
| control | Control others or oneself or influence skillfully usually to one s advantage. Control the lever. |
| convert | Exchange or replace with another, usually of the same kind or category. Convert slaves to laborers. |
| direct | Give directions to point somebody into a certain direction. The judge directed him to perform community service. |
| dominate | Have dominance or the power to defeat over. A picturesque city dominated by the cathedral tower. |
| equivocate | Be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information. The government have equivocated too often in the past. |
| fluctuate | Cause to fluctuate or move in a wavelike pattern. The stock market fluctuates. |
| go from one extreme to the other | Change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically. |
| govern | (of a word) require that (another word or group of words) be in a particular case. The future of Jamaica will be governed by geography not history. |
| guide | Use as a guide. The groove in the needle guides the thread. |
| hesitate | Pause in indecision before saying or doing something. Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures. |
| influence | Have an influence on. Government regulations can influence behaviour but often without changing underlying values and motivations. |
| keel | Walk as if unable to control one’s movements. It s going to take more wind to make this boat keel over. |
| list | Enlist for military service. I listed myself for a soldier. |
| lurch | Defeat by a lurch. The truck lurched down the road. |
| move back and forth | Follow a procedure or take a course. |
| move from side to side | Dispose of by selling. |
| move to and fro | Change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically. |
| oscillate | Vary in magnitude or position in a regular manner about a central point. The grain pan near the front of the combine oscillates back and forth. |
| persuade | Cause somebody to adopt a certain position, belief, or course of action; twist somebody’s arm. It wasn t easy but I persuaded him to do the right thing. |
| pitch | Set to a certain pitch. She pitched over the railing of the balcony. |
| prevail on | Continue to exist. |
| reel | Wind onto or off a reel. Sailplanes are often launched by means of a wire reeled in by a winch. |
| rock | Cause to move back and forth. Rock the baby. |
| roll | Shape by rolling. Huge tears rolled down her cheeks. |
| rule | Mark or draw with a ruler. The tenth House ruled by Saturn and associated with Capricorn. |
| see-saw | Move unsteadily, with a rocking motion. |
| shake | Shake a body part to communicate a greeting feeling or cognitive state. If the bombing cannot shake the government out of its complacency what will. |
| stagger | Astonish or deeply shock. He staggered along in the heavy snow. |
| stumble | Make a mistake or repeated mistakes in speaking. Her foot caught in the rug and she stumbled. |
| swerve | Change or cause to change direction abruptly. A lorry swerved across her path. |
| swing | Change direction with a swinging motion turn. The Woodstock generation attempted to swing freely. |
| talk round | Divulge confidential information or secrets. |
| undulate | Occur in soft rounded shapes. The curtains undulated. |
| vacillate | Move or sway in a rising and falling or wavelike pattern. The line on the monitor vacillated. |
| vary | Make something more diverse and varied. Prices vary. |
| veer | (of the wind) change direction clockwise around the points of the compass. The motorbike veered to the right. |
| waver | Sway to and fro. The flame wavered in the draught. |
| win over | Be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious. |
| wobble | (of the voice) vary slightly in pitch; quaver. He is beginning to wobble on the issue. |
| careen | Pitching dangerously to one side. The ship careened out of control. |
| falter | Speak hesitantly. He faltered and finally stopped in mid stride. |
| hesitation | The act of pausing uncertainly. I have no hesitation in recommending him. |
| motion | An optical illusion of motion produced by viewing a rapid succession of still pictures of a moving object. The reflex motion of his eyebrows revealed his surprise. |
| oscillate | (of a circuit or device) cause the electric current or voltage running through it to vary in magnitude or position in a regular manner about a central point. The grain pan near the front of the combine oscillates back and forth. |
| oscillation | A regular periodic variation in value about a mean. Electromagnetic oscillations. |
| quake | An earthquake. A big quake east of the Rocky Mountains. |
| quiver | The act of vibrating. Juliet s lower lip quivered. |
| seesaw | Move up and down as if on a seesaw. |
| shake | A milkshake. Don t miss the homemade cookies and shakes. |
| shaking | A shaky motion. The shaking of his fingers as he lit his pipe. |
| shiver | Shake, as from cold. The way he looked at her sent shivers down her spine. |
| shudder | An act of shuddering. The elevator rose with a shudder. |
| stagger | The arrangement of the runners in lanes on a running track at the start of a race, so that the runner in the inside lane is positioned behind those in the next lane and so on until the outside lane. The treasury staggered from one crisis to the next. |
| swing | The motion of swinging. Swing a bat. |
| swinging | The practice of engaging in group sex or the swapping of sexual partners within a group, especially on a habitual basis. A swinging resort. |
| teeter | Be unable to decide between different courses; waver. She teetered after him in her high heeled sandals. |
| topple | Cause to topple or tumble by pushing. Disagreement had threatened to topple the government. |
| totter | Move without being stable, as if threatening to fall. The drunk man tottered over to our table. |
| tremble | A physical or emotional condition marked by trembling. I tremble to think that we could ever return to conditions like these. |
| tremor | Undergo a tremor or tremors. A disorder that causes tremors and muscle rigidity. |
| tremulous | (of the voice) quivering as from weakness or fear. He gave a tremulous smile. |
| vacillate | Be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action. I vacillated between teaching and journalism. |
| vacillation | Changing location by moving back and forth. The First Minister s vacillation over the affair. |
| vibrate | (of a pendulum) swing to and fro. The bumblebee vibrated its wings for a few seconds. |
| vibration | An instance of vibrating. The big capacity engine generated less vibration. |
| waddle | Walk with short steps and a clumsy swaying motion. Ducks walk with a waddle. |
| wag | (especially with reference to an animal’s tail) move or cause to move rapidly to and fro. She wagged a finger at Elinor. |
| waver | The act of pausing uncertainly. His love for her had never wavered. |
| wobble | Move unsteadily. Enthusiastic thumping may wobble the lectern. |
The synonyms and related words of "Brag" are: blow, bluster, boast, gas, gasconade, shoot a…
The synonyms and related words of "Pierce" are: thrust, make a hole in, penetrate, puncture,…
The synonyms and related words of "Weary" are: aweary, tired, tired out, exhausted, fatigued, overtired,…
The synonyms and related words of "Kick" are: complain, kvetch, plain, quetch, sound off, give…
The synonyms and related words of "Useless" are: futile, pointless, purposeless, impractical, vain, in vain,…
Want to describe something with adjectives that start with 'J'? Though they are not numerous,…