sway

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /sweɪ/ UK /sweɪ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to move rhythmically side to side; to influence or control

The crowd swayed gently to the slow rhythm of the song.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to move rhythmically side... swing rock oscillate wave influence persuade control

Opposites

steady fix

Word family

Forms swayingly

Derived forms swayingswayed

Etymology

From Middle English sweyen ('to move, swing'), probably of Scandinavian origin, akin to Old Norse sveigja ('to bend, swing') and dialectal Norwegian svaga ('to sway').

sveigja Old Norse

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# sway

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /sweɪ/
**IPA (UK):** /sweɪ/

## Meanings
1. to move rhythmically side to side; to influence or control

## Examples
- The crowd swayed gently to the slow rhythm of the song.

## Synonyms
- swing
- rock
- oscillate
- wave
- influence
- persuade
- control

## Antonyms
- steady
- fix

## Derived Forms
- swaying
- swayed

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sveigja

## Etymology
From Middle English sweyen ('to move, swing'), probably of Scandinavian origin, akin to Old Norse sveigja ('to bend, swing') and dialectal Norwegian svaga ('to sway').

## AI Etymology
Sway comes from Middle English sweyen ('to move, swing'), probably of Scandinavian origin, akin to Old Norse sveigja ('to bend, swing') and dialectal Norwegian svaga ('to sway'). The historical trail runs through Old Norse sveigja. In modern use it means to move rhythmically side to side; to influence or control. Derived formations include swaying, swayed.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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