influence
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The power to change how someone thinks or acts.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
infloouhnsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɪnfluəns
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The effect of one thing (or person) on another
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.
An action exerted by a person or thing with such power on another to cause change.
One having power to influence another
“She was the most important influence in my life.”
verb
transitive
To have an effect on by using gentle or subtle action; to exert an influence upon; to modify, bias, or sway; to persuade or induce.
“The artist's work influenced the young painter.”
Shape or influence; give direction to
intransitive
To exert, make use of one's influence.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: 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.
Used this way, influence is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
One having powernoun
“She was the most important influence in my life.”
Effect / exertverb
“The artist's work influenced the young painter.”
More ways to use influence
- “Used her parents' influence to get the job.”noun
- “The artist's work influenced the young painter.”verb
- “She was the most important influence in my life.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Someone who intervenes with authorities for a person in trouble (usually using underhand or illegal methods for a fee).
Law intended to eradicate organized crime by establishing strong sanctions and forfeiture provisions.
The geographical area in which one nation is very influential.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Having or exercising influence or power.
A person whose actions and opinions strongly influence the course of events.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.