sway

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++sway1 /sweɪ/ ●●○ verb  1  [intransitive]MOVE/CHANGE POSITIONSIDE to move slowly from one side to another 摇摆，摆动，摇晃 The trees swayed gently in the breeze. 树木在和风中轻轻摇曳。► see thesaurus at move2  [transitive]EFFECT/INFLUENCE to influence someone so that they change their opinion 影响〔某人〕；使改变看法 Don’t allow yourself to be swayed by his promises. 你可不要听了他的许诺就改变主意呀。→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

sway• A light wind was making the branches sway.• The ski lifts were swaying alarmingly from side to side.• Insecure people are often easily swayed by flattery.• The judge was not swayed by her apology.• We should never allow ourselves to be swayed by our feelings.• The court is unlikely to be swayed by those arguments.• We could do pullups on the steady, immobile high bar instead of on our clanking, swaying ceiling pipes.• Donny swayed drunkenly as he walked back to his car.• Without influence in Delhi or among the Tamils she was powerless to sway events.• On the way I noticed that the pavement swayed from side to side and the road heaved up and down.• The boat swayed from side to side in the storm.• Mel swayed her hips in time with the music.• Ed's parents never tried to sway him, but they are happy with the decision he's made.• They groped their way to a plastic table and sat facing the swaying shadows at the bar.• Before long I had rejoined the tribe, swaying shoulder to shoulder with them as I thumped on a cast-iron pan.• But, again, he failed to sway the jury, which returned a first-degree murder verdict.sway2 noun [uncountable]  1  literaryCONTROL power to rule or influence people 影响力；支配；统治 These old attitudes still hold sway in the church. 这些旧观念在教会中仍占支配地位。under somebody’s sway She was now completely under his sway. 她现在完全受他的支配。2  SIDEa swinging movement from side to side 摇摆，摆动，摇晃 the sway of the ship 船的摇晃

Examples from the Corpus

sway• the constant sway of the small aircraft• The same attitudes held sway in Vienna.• Nineteenth-century forms and styles held sway until the 1920s when they were replaced by their horrendous antithesis - Functionalism.• Nearly 10 years later, she still holds sway on Wall Street.• No one has more sway with Congress than the media.• The line weaves back and forth in the water, in sinister sway.• That boy had held such sway.• The sway of the crowd sent him sprawling.hold sway• This of course benefits the income of the less expensive factor of production, as is inevitable when capital holds sway.• Suddenly new possibilities are springing to life where previously deadlock and despair held sway.• That is why we feel justified in saying that Realism has held sway for the last forty years.• His reputedly Herculean virility long remained a byword throughout the district over which he held sway.• That romantic notion held sway over me, and probably delayed my perception of Clarisa as some one with a medical problem.• Nearly 10 years later, she still holds sway on Wall Street.• It's a place for Comici's drop-of-water philosophy to hold sway.• The Marsh End at that time had at least two moles who held sway in their different ways over moles of their generation.Origin sway1 (1200-1300) Probably from a Scandinavian language

sway1 verbsway2 nounChinese  

from another slowly move to side Corpus one to

sway

I

sway¹ /sweɪ/ verb1. [intransitive] to move slowly from one side to another:
    The trees swayed gently in the breeze.
2. [transitive] to influence someone so that they change their opinion:
    Don’t allow yourself to be swayed by his promises.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ move to go to a different place, or change the position of your body: Sarah moved away from the window. | Every time I move I get a pain in my left shoulder.
   ▪ sway to move slowly from one side to the other: The branches swayed in the wind. | Donny swayed drunkenly as he walked back to his car.
   ▪ rock to move repeatedly from one side to another, with small gentle movements: He rocked backward and forward in his chair. | The boat rocked from side to side with the waves.
   ▪ wobble to move unsteadily from side to side: The bike wobbled a bit, but she soon got it under control.
   ▪ fidget to keep moving or playing with your fingers, hands, feet etc, because you are bored or nervous: Diana fidgeted nervously with her pencil.
   ▪ squirm to make very small movements from side to side with your body, especially because you feel uncomfortable: By the end of the hour, most of the children were squirming in their seats.
   ▪ wriggle to make small movements from side to side, especially in order to get into or out of something: The dog wriggled under the fence and escaped into the street. | She managed to wriggle into the dress, but it was much too tight.
   ▪ twitch if part of your body twitches, it makes small movements that you cannot control: A muscle on Yang’s face twitched.
   ▪ stir written to make a movement – used especially when describing a situation in which no one moves, or someone wakes up: In the village a dog barked but no one stirred | The sleeping child stirred and opened her eyes.
   ▪ budge to move – used when you are trying hard to make something move, often without success: The piano wouldn’t budge.

II

sway² noun [uncountable]
1. literary power to rule or influence people:
    These old attitudes still hold sway in the church.
    under sb’s sway
    She was now completely under his sway.
2. a swinging movement from side to side:
    the sway of the ship