swaying 1 of 3

adjective

as in lilting

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swaying

2 of 3

noun

as in influencing

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swaying

3 of 3

verb

present participle of sway
1
as in affecting
to act upon (a person or a person's feelings) so as to cause a response how can you not be swayed by that precious kitten, meowing as if to say, "Please take me home with you?"

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lurching
to make a series of unsteady side-to-side motions the way the ski lift was swaying in the wind made me nervous

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in governing
archaic to exercise authority or power over an epic novel set in the days when Rome swayed the Western world

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of swaying
Adjective
As the sun set below blush clouds, the gently swaying crowd matched the R&B singer’s sultry energy. — Anna Haines, Vogue, 23 Sep. 2025
Noun
There’s an ever present sense of the air moving, seen in the grass swaying and the smoke drifting. — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Apr. 2026 Chisora would react by dipping and swaying. — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2026 No, in these cases, there wasn’t any successful swaying of opinion. — Torie Bosch, STAT, 1 June 2026 While Kesteloo is used to traveling at sea, the rocking and swaying of the boat might affect you differently. — Alyssa Grabinski, PEOPLE, 23 June 2026 Tuesday night’s elections further showed the swaying power that Latinx voters can have. — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026 People evacuated swaying buildings and homes in the capital, Caracas. — ABC News, 24 June 2026 Naturally, all eyes were on Swift for much of the night, and the unapologetic fan of popular music did not disappoint — singing along, cheering, swaying, even holding on to her guy for brief moments. — Shirley Halperin, Rolling Stone, 12 June 2026 Residents described evacuating swaying buildings and seeing entire walls collapse. — Kaylah Jackson, NBC news, 25 June 2026
Verb
The movie is an apex of film noir, filled with dark shadows, moody lighting and ominous swaying palm trees. — Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026 The receiver hangs by its silver cord, swaying slightly in the wake of someone passing by. — Ashley Andreou, STAT, 22 June 2026 The Cantina café has tables beneath the olive trees, wicker lampshades swaying above. — Adrienne Wyper, TheWeek, 22 June 2026 In her two-story home, lamps and other objects began swaying violently. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 25 June 2026 Venezuela residents reeling from quakes During the quakes, people ran from swaying buildings. — Megan Janetsky, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2026 Landing on a swaying vessel is difficult, and many drones need to hover while calculating how the landing area is tilting. — New Atlas, 18 June 2026 The coffin was unveiled late on Thursday to a throng of sobbing supporters, who were swaying and beating their heads in time to a sung lament as flowers were thrown from the bier into the crowd. — Reuters, USA Today, 4 July 2026 Lewis set a Guinness World Record for slackline surfing, swaying his feet side to side in a rocking motion that mimics surfing, while keeping his balance above China's Diaoshuilou waterfall in 2011. — CBS News, 16 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swaying
  1. lilting
  2. influencing
  3. affecting
  4. lurching
  5. governing
  6. musical
  7. prompting
  8. impressing
Adjective
  • Dry farmed and organically grown, this sauvignon blanc is zesty, fresh and lilting with lovely notes of wet stone and citrus.
    — Katie Kelly Bell, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
  • Its lilting reggae sound seems designed more for lazing around a pool (perhaps with an inflatable unicorn) than rousing the masses.
    — Jon O'Brien, Vulture, 11 June 2026
Definition of lilting
Noun
  • Nicolas Matthew Scelfo of Brooklyn, New York, faces up to 10 years in prison after being charged with influencing, impeding, and retaliating against a federal officer by threat.
    — Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 10 June 2026
  • Seven states have now passed legislation to regulate family influencing, but these laws mostly just ensure that parents set aside a percentage of earnings to compensate their children.
    — Kristen Martin, The Atlantic, 13 May 2026
Definition of influencing
Verb
  • And women who suspect their period pain is more severe than normal should not hesitate to speak with a health care provider, especially if symptoms are affecting their quality of life.
    — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 7 July 2026
  • The heat is affecting how air pollution disperses over the region, National Weather Service meteorologist Carol Ciliberti said Sunday.
    — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
Definition of affecting
Verb
  • The same boom-and-bust dependency on the oil industry, whose profits were now funnelled through the regime and its allies, kept the country lurching from one crisis to the next.
    — Armando Ledezma, New Yorker, 30 June 2026
  • The old guard of the Democratic Party suffered another body blow when three socialist congressional candidates in New York with anti-Israel platforms swept to victory, lurching the party even further to the left.
    — Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 25 June 2026
Definition of lurching
Verb
  • An international force meant to secure parts of Gaza – and allow for the NCAG to begin governing – has yet to materialize.
    — Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • But Persad-Bissessar, who left that summit early, argues the decision violated the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, the agreement governing the bloc known as CARICOM.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 6 July 2026
Definition of governing
Adjective
  • Veteran creatives who helped launch the musical reunite on tour, describing the show’s glittering escapism as a balm for audiences in anxious, overwhelming times.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
  • One honors African women as the inventors of beer, another celebrates the Jazz District through the historic castle at 18th and Vine, while a third highlights hip-hop as the next chapter in the neighborhood’s musical history.
    — J.M. Banks, Kansas City Star, 30 June 2026
Definition of musical
Noun
  • One of its executives, Anderson, defined agentic treasury as a control system for the movement of money, software that does not merely advise a treasurer but acts, moving cash between accounts, settling invoices, hedging a currency exposure, all with little human prompting.
    — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
  • The agent can run programs and complete requests without constant prompting.
    — Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 3 June 2026
Definition of prompting
Verb
  • There, check out the Harbor View Cafe, which has been impressing visitors since 1980.
    — Katy Spratte Joyce, Travel + Leisure, 3 July 2026
  • Jordan Bos, a twenty-three-year-old left-back from Melbourne, has been impressing in the top Dutch league with his intelligence and intricate footwork.
    — Naaman Zhou, New Yorker, 1 July 2026
Definition of impressing

Browse Nearby Words

swayed
swaying
sways
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Cite this Entry

“Swaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swaying. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of swaying for Spanish Speakers

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