Definitions for influence
ˈɪn flu ənsin·flu·ence

Princeton's WordNet(4.15 / 27 votes)Rate this definition:

1. influencenoun

   a power to affect persons or events especially power based on prestige etc

   "used her parents' influence to get the job"

2. influencenoun

   causing something without any direct or apparent effort

3. influencenoun

   a cognitive factor that tends to have an effect on what you do

   "her wishes had a great influence on his thinking"

4. influencenoun

   the effect of one thing (or person) on another

   "the influence of mechanical action"

5. influenceverb

   one having power to influence another

   "she was the most important influence in my life"; "he was a bad influence on the children"

6. influence, act upon, workverb

   have and exert influence or effect

   "The artist's work influenced the young painter"; "She worked on her friends to support the political candidate"

7. determine, shape, mold, influence, regulateverb

   shape or influence; give direction to

   "experience often determines ability"; "mold public opinion"

8. charm, influence, temptverb

   induce into action by using one's charm

   "She charmed him into giving her all his money"

Wiktionary(3.75 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. influencenoun

   The power to affect, control or manipulate something or someone; the ability to change the development of fluctuating things such as conduct, thoughts or decisions.

   I have absolutely no influence over him.

2. influencenoun

   An action exerted by a person or thing with such power on another to cause change.

   I'm not able to exercise influence over him.

3. influencenoun

   A person or thing exerting such power or action.

   He has been a great influence on the voters during the elections.

4. influencenoun

   An element believed to determine someone's character or individual tendencies, caused by the position of the stars and planets at the time of one's birth.

5. influencenoun

   The action of flowing in; influx.

6. influencenoun

   electrostatic induction.

7. influenceverb

   To affect by gentle action; to exert an influence upon; to modify, bias, or sway; to persuade or induce.

8. influenceverb

   To exert, make us of one's influence.

9. influenceverb

   To cause to flow in or into; infuse; instill.

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Influencenoun

   a flowing in or upon; influx

2. Influencenoun

   hence, in general, the bringing about of an effect, phusical or moral, by a gradual process; controlling power quietly exerted; agency, force, or tendency of any kind which the sun exerts on animal and vegetable life; the influence of education on the mind; the influence, according to astrologers,of the stars over affairs

3. Influencenoun

   power or authority arising from elevated station, excelence of character or intellect, wealth, etc.; reputation; acknowledged ascendency; as, he is a man of influence in the community

4. Influencenoun

   induction

5. Influenceverb

   to control or move by power, physical or moral; to affect by gentle action; to exert an influence upon; to modify, bias, or sway; to move; to persuade; to induce

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Influence

   in′flōō-ens, n. power exerted on men or things: power in operation: authority.—v.t. to affect: to move: to direct.—adj. Influen′tial, having or exerting influence or power over.—adv. Influen′tially. [Orig. a term in astrology, the power or virtue supposed to flow from planets upon men and things; O. Fr.,—Low L. influentia—L. in, into, fluĕre, to flow.]

Matched Categories

1. • Causing
   • Consequence
   • Determinant
   • Persuade
   • Power

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'influence' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1247

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'influence' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3165

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'influence' in Nouns Frequency: #481

4. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'influence' in Verbs Frequency: #354

How to pronounce influence?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say influence in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of influence in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of influence in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of influence in a Sentence

1. Samier Dandan:

   Almost universally, research points to the enormous influence that wider social, economic and political issues have on the process of radicalization, yet, the focus of the government's strategy seems to rest heavily on how best it can strip people of their rights in the name of 'security'.

2. Pam Crawford:

   What happened to our son is something that is pretty devastating. We feel like this is the only way we can have an influence on it not happening again.

3. Alina Polyakova:

   Butina was another pawn on the chess board, lots of people were doing lots of different things, all with the same goal. Butina was... another pathway to possibly reach Donald Trump Donald Trump and influence the campaign.

4. Nick Schwellenbach:

   It's still an industry attempt to influence the committee's makeup and the scientific advice it would ultimately provide. But the attempt likely happened too late after the die had been cast and membership was decided.

5. Andreas Simic:

   If there is one area of our lives that we have complete control in, it is our thinking. Others may influence our thinking; however we alone can choose to accept that influence. Each day we have a CHOICE to be either be positive in our thinking or negative. To emit positive energy or to emit negative energy is of our choosing.

Images & Illustrations of influence

Popularity rank by frequency of use