Sway Meaning
/ˈsweɪ̯/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe act of swaying; a swaying motion; a swing or sweep of a weapon.
nounA rocking or swinging motion.
Sentence Examples
Tall buildings may sway in a strong wind.
Nothing could sway his conviction.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The tall trees began to ____ violently in the strong wind.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The tall trees began to ____ back and forth in the strong wind that blew through the valley today.
Word Origin & History
From earlier swey (“to fall, swoon”), from Middle English sweyen, from Old English *swǣġan (“to bend, bow”), from Proto-West Germanic *swaigijan, from Proto-Germanic *swaigijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sweh₁- See also Saterland Frisian swooie (“to swing, wave, wobble”); also Lithuanian svai̇̃gti (“to become giddy or dizzy”), the second element of Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌-𐬱𐬑𐬎𐬀𐬑𐬙𐬀 (paⁱri-šxuaxta, “to surround”), Sanskrit स्वजते (svájate, “he embraces, enfolds”). The noun derived from the verb.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Though both Mr. Knight and Mr. Hennessey view themselves as traders first, the “finfluencer” culture has flourished with the surge in online interest, and they have considerable sway."
— 2021 April 28, Tara Siegel Bernard, “Trading Stock Tips on TikTok, Newbies Are Deeply Invested in Learning”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
"[…] the slowly dawning realisation that, as the billionaire venture capitalist Michael Moritz put it, they have “no sway” over what they unleashed."
— 2025 June 9, Gaby Hinsliff, quoting Michael Moritz, “Trump has unleashed something terrifying in the US – that even he may be powerless to control”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
"Prospero:[…]Confederates / (ſo drie he was for Sway) with King of Naples / To giue him Annuall tribute, doe him homage / Subiect his Coronet, to his Crowne and bend / The Dukedom yet vnbow'd (alas poore Millaine) / To moſt ignoble ſtooping."
— 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
"Prayuth's return as prime minister takes Thailand back to 1980s. Military still holds sway in a democracy that has yet to mature."
— 2019 June 8, Toru Takahashi, “Prayuth's return as prime minister takes Thailand back to 1980s”, in Nikkei Asian Review, Nikkei Inc, retrieved 09 Jun 2019:
"Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines."
— 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “Afterglow”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 168:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The tall trees began to ____ violently in the strong wind.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The tall trees began to ____ back and forth in the strong wind that blew through the valley today.