[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

sway \sway\ sw=a, v. t. imp.  p. p. swayed; p. pr.  vb.
   n. swaying. oe. sweyen, icel. sveigja, akin to e. swing;
   cf. d. zwaaijen to wield, swing. see swing, and cf. swag,
   v. i.
   1. to move or wield with the hand; to swing; to wield; as, to
      sway the scepter.
      1913 webster

            as sparkles from the anvil rise,
            when heavy hammers on the wedge are swayed.
                                                  --spenser.
      1913 webster

   2. to influence or direct by power and authority; by
      persuasion, or by moral force; to rule; to govern; to
      guide.
      1913 webster

            the will of man is by his reason swayed. --shak.
      1913 webster

            she could not sway her house.         --shak.
      1913 webster

            this was the race
            to sway the world, and land and sea subdue.
                                                  --dryden.
      1913 webster

   3. to cause to incline or swing to one side, or backward and
      forward; to bias; to turn; to bend; warp; as, reeds swayed
      by wind; judgment swayed by passion.
      1913 webster

            as bowls run true by being made
            on purpose false, and to be swayed.   --hudibras.
      1913 webster

            let not temporal and little advantages sway you
            against a more durable interest.      --tillotson.
      1913 webster

   4. naut. to hoist; as, to sway up the yards.
      1913 webster

   syn: to bias; rule; govern; direct; influence; swing; move;
        wave; wield.
        1913 webster
see also:
swayed swaying swing swag 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

sway \sway\ sw=a, v. i.
   1. to be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean;
      to incline.
      1913 webster

            the balance sways on our part.        --bacon.
      1913 webster

   2. to move or swing from side to side; or backward and
      forward.
      1913 webster

   3. to have weight or influence.
      1913 webster

            the example of sundry churches . . . doth sway much.
                                                  --hooker.
      1913 webster

   4. to bear sway; to rule; to govern.
      1913 webster

            hadst thou swayed as kings should do. --shak.
      1913 webster

[3] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

sway \sway\, n.
   1. the act of swaying; a swaying motion; the swing or sweep
      of a weapon.
      1913 webster

            with huge two-handed sway brandished aloft.
                                                  --milton.
      1913 webster

   2. influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side;
      as, the sway of desires. --a. tucker.
      1913 webster

   3. preponderance; turn or cast of balance.
      1913 webster

            expert
            when to advance, or stand, or turn the sway
            of battle.                            --milton.
      1913 webster

   4. rule; dominion; control. --cowper.
      1913 webster

            when vice prevails, and impious men bear sway,
            the post of honor is a private station. --addison.
      1913 webster

   5. a switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work.
      prov. eng. --halliwell.
      1913 webster

   syn: rule; dominion; power; empire; control; influence;
        direction; preponderance; ascendency.
        1913 webster

[4] : WordNet (r) 2.0

sway
     n 1: controlling influence
     2: pitching dangerously to one side syn: rock, careen, tilt
     v 1: move back and forth  or sideways; "the ship was rocking";
          "the tall building swayed"; "she rocked back and forth
          on her feet" syn: rock, shake
     2: move or walk in a swinging or swaying manner; "he swung
        back" syn: swing
     3: win approval or support for; "carry all before one"; "his
        speech did not sway the voters" syn: carry, persuade
     4: cause to move back and forth; "rock the cradle"; "rock the
        baby"; "the wind swayed the trees gently" syn: rock
see also:
rock careen tilt shake swing carry 
persuade 

[5] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

325 moby thesaurus words for "sway":
   acme, administration, affect, alternate, amplitude, angle,
   angle off, angularity, argue into, ascend, ascendancy, authority,
   authorization, back and fill, bank, be-all and end-all, bear off,
   bear reign, bend, bias, blue ribbon, blunder, bob, bobble,
   break down, bring, bring over, bring round, bring to reason, cant,
   captivate, careen, career, carry, cave in, championship, charisma,
   charm, civil government, claws, climb, clout, clutches, coggle,
   collapse, color, command, con, conduct, consequence, control,
   convince, credit, crook, dangle, decide, decline, deflect, descend,
   determine, deviate, dip, direct, direction, directorship,
   discipline, dispensation, dispose, disposition, distort, divagate,
   diverge, divert, dominance, domination, dominion, draw over, drop,
   ebb and flow, effect, effectiveness, eminence, empery, empire,
   enchantment, engage, enlist, esteem, expanse, fall, fall away,
   fall in, fall off, falter, favor, first place, first prize,
   flounce, flounder, fluctuate, flutter, force, form of government,
   founder, gain, gain over, get, get to do, go downhill,
   go through phases, go uphill, good feeling, govern, governance,
   government, grade, grasp, grip, hand, hands, headship, heave,
   hegemony, height, highest, hobbyhorse, hold, hook, hook in,
   imperium, importance, impress, incidental power, inclination,
   incline, induce, influence, influentiality, insinuation, inspire,
   interest in, iron hand, jaundice, jurisdiction, keel, kingship,
   labor, lead, leadership, lean, leaning, leaning tower, leverage,
   librate, libration, list, lordship, lurch, lure, magnetism,
   make heavy weather, manage, management, mastership, mastery,
   maximum, might, moment, most, move, ne plus ultra, new high,
   nutate, oblique, oscillate, outtalk, overrule, oversight, palms,
   paramountcy, pendulate, personality, persuade, persuasion, pitch,
   pitch and plunge, pitch and toss, plunge, political organization,
   polity, potency, pound, power, predispose, predominance, prejudice,
   prejudice against, prejudice the issue, preponderance, prepossess,
   presidency, pressure, prestige, prevail on, prevail upon,
   prevail with, primacy, procure, prompt, purchase, raj, rake, range,
   reach, rear, record, reel, regime, regimen, regnancy, regulation,
   reign, repute, resonate, retreat, ring the changes, rise, rock,
   roll, rule, rule over, say, scend, scope, seesaw, seethe, sell,
   sell one on, shake, sheer, shelve, shift, shuffle, sidle, skew,
   slant, slope, slue, soften up, sovereignty, spread, stagger,
   stretch, strike, strings, struggle, stumble, suasion,
   subtle influence, suggestion, supervision, supremacy, swag, sweep,
   swerve, swing, swinging, system of government, talk into,
   talk over, talons, teeter, teeter-totter, tempt, tend,
   thrash about, tilt, tinge, tip, tone, top spot, topple,
   topple down, topple over, toss, toss and tumble, toss and turn,
   totter, touch, tower of pisa, tumble, turn, twist, undulate,
   upper hand, uprise, vacillate, vary, veer, vibrate, volutation,
   wag, waggle, wallop, wallow, wangle, wangle into, warp, wave,
   waver, wax and wane, wear down, wear the crown, weave, weigh with,
   weight, welter, whip hand, wield the scepter, win, win over,
   wobble, work, yaw, zenith

Sway >> S Words
Sway, definition of term: Sway
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