influence
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English
Etymology
From Middle English, from Old French influence (“emanation from the stars affecting one's fate”), from Medieval Latin īnfluentia, from Latin īnfluēns (“flowing in”), present active participle of īnfluō (“flow into”), from in- (“in-”) + fluō (“flow”).
Pronunciation
Noun
influence (countable and uncountable; plural influences)
- 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.
- 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.
- A person or thing exerting such power or action.
- He has been a great influence on the voters during the elections.
- (astrology) 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.
- (obsolete) The action of flowing in; influx.
- (electricity) electrostatic induction.
Usage notes
- Adjectives often applied to "influence": cultural, political, social, economic, military, personal, moral, intellectual, mental, good, bad, positive, negative, beneficial, harmful, huge, big, heavy, significant, important, potential, actual, primary.
Related terms
- influencer
- influent
- influential, influentially
- social influence
- sphere of influence
- under the influence
Translations
power to affect, control or manipulate
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action exerted by a person or thing with power to cause change
person or thing exerting such power or action
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(astrology) element determining someone's character or individual tendencies
action of flowing in; influx — see influx
electrostatic induction
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Translations to be checked
Verb
influence (third-person singular simple present influences, present participle influencing, simple past and past participle influenced)
- (transitive) To affect by gentle action; to exert an influence upon; to modify, bias, or sway; to persuade or induce.
- The politician wants to influence the public.
- I must admit that this book influenced my outlook on life.
- (intransitive) To exert, make us of one's influence.
- (transitive, obsolete) To cause to flow in or into; infuse; instill.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
to exert an influence upon
(intransitive) to exert influence
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
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Statistics
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Most common English words before 1923: lips · donations · George · #666: influence · March · whatever · reach
French
Etymology
From Medieval Latin īnfluentia, from Latin īnfluēns (“flowing in”), present active participle of īnfluō (“flow into”), from in- (“in-”) + fluō (“flow”).
Pronunciation
Noun
influence m. (plural influences)
Related terms
Verb form
influence
- imperative form of influencer
- singular present imperfect form of influencer
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English nouns
- en:Astrology
- English terms with obsolete senses
- en:Electricity
- English verbs
- French terms derived from Medieval Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French nouns
- French masculine nouns
- French countable nouns
- French verb forms
