What does influence mean?

Definitions for influence
ˈɪn flu ənsin·flu·ence

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word influence.

Princeton's WordNet

  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

  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.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. INFLUENCEnoun

    Etymology: influence, Fr. influo, Latin.

    The sacred influence of light appears. John Milton.

    Comets no rule, no righteous order own;
    Their influence dreaded, as their ways unknown. Matthew Prior.

    Incomparable lady, your commandment doth not only give me the will, but the power to obey you; such influence hath your excellency. Philip Sidney.

    God hath his influence into the very essence of all things, without which influence of Deity supporting them, their utter annihilation could not chuse but follow. Richard Hooker.

    A wise man shall over-rule his stars, and have a greater influence upon his own content than all the constellations and planets of the firmament. Jeremy Taylor, Rule of living holy.

    Foreknowledge had no influence on their fault. John Milton.

    Religion hath so great an influence upon the felicity of men, that it ought to be upheld, not only out of a dread of the divine vengeance in another world, but out of regard to the temporal prosperity of men. John Tillotson.

    Our inconsistency in the pursuit of schemes throughly digested, has a bad influence on our affairs. Addison.

    So astonishing a scene would have present influence upon them, but not produce a lasting effect. Francis Atterbury.

    Where it ought to have greatest influence, this obvious indisputable truth is little regarded. John Rogers.

  2. To Influenceverb

    To act upon with directive or impulsive power; to modify to any purpose; to guide or lead to any end.

    Etymology: from the noun.

    By thy kind pow'r and influencing care,
    The various creatures move, and live, and are. John Milton.

    These experiments succeed after the same manner in vacuo as in the open air, and therefore are not influenced by the weight or pressure of the atmosphere. Isaac Newton, Opt.

    This standing revelation was attested in the most solemn and credible manner; and is sufficient to influence their faith and practice, if they attend. Francis Atterbury.

    All the restraint men are under is, by the violation of one law, broken through; and the principle which influenced their obedience has lost its efficacy on them. John Rogers, Sermons.

Wikipedia

  1. Influence

    Influence is a song recorded by Swedish singer-songwriter Tove Lo featuring guest vocals by American rapper Wiz Khalifa. It was released on 9 September 2016 as a promotional single from her second studio album Lady Wood (2016).

ChatGPT

  1. influence

    Influence is the capacity or power of a person, thing, or phenomenon to affect the behavior, development, or actions of others, either directly or indirectly. This can be achieved through various means such as persuasion, inspiration, manipulation, or even coercion. Influence often corresponds with authority, status, knowledge, relationships or other forms of social or personal capital.

Webster Dictionary

  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

  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.]

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?

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. Vanda Felbab-Brown:

    But just like with many other insurgent groups, there is often way too much... mystique afforded to the drug economies. What competent, even moderately competent insurgents and, frankly, criminal groups do, is to simply tax anything in the area, where they have enough influence to be able to enforce the collection of informal taxation.

  2. Adam Schiff:

    Last month, in a bid to prevent informing the American people and its elected representatives about Russian efforts to help President President Trump and hurt Joe Biden, the Trump Administration announced that it would cease briefing Congress in person, and rely on written products alone. But if written products are being altered for political reasons, or worse withheld entirely, how can the American people trust that this Administration will inform voters on how foreign powers are trying to influence them, or where the threats really come from, and protect National Security — particularly when it contradicts the President's preferred narrative or personal political interests ? In short, they can't, and that's dangerous.

  3. Joost A. Merloo:

    Psychologically, it is important to understand that the simple fact of being interviewed and investigated has a coercive influence. As soon as a man is under cross-examination, he may become paralyzed by the procedure and find himself confessing to deeds he never did. In a country where the urge to investigate spreads, suspicion and insecurity grow.

  4. Jeff Knox:

    I just simply do not understand the people who seem to think Wayne LaPierre is the The NRA, the NRA is not the gun lobby. We are. We the people, we the members. We're the source of the power, we're the source of their money, we're the source of their influence.

  5. Oli London:

    Now, she's (Pocock) a very prominent LGBT activist, head of an organization speaking before the House Oversight Committee. So, she obviously has a lot of influence and power. She was saying that these people do not even exist. People like me don't exist.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for influence

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"influence." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/influence>.

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    one whose prevailing mental imagery takes the form of inner feelings of action
    A tenebrous
    B bibulous
    C motile
    D naiant

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