sway
/ˈsweɪ̯/ verb C2- To move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward; to rock. · sway to the music· The trees swayed in the breeze.
- To move or wield with the hand; to swing; to wield. · to sway the sceptre
- To influence or direct by power, authority, persuasion, or by moral force; to rule; to govern; to guide. Compare persuade. · Do you think you can sway their decision?
- To cause to incline or swing to one side, or backward and forward; to bias; to turn; to bend; to warp. · reeds swayed by the wind· judgment swayed by passion
- To hoist (a mast or yard) into position. · to sway up the yards
- To be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean; to incline.
- To have weight or influence.
- To bear sway; to rule; to govern.
He/she/it sways · Past swayed · Past participle swayed · -ing form swaying
Verb forms
- Base form
- sway
- He/she/it
- sways
- Past
- swayed
- Past participle
- swayed
- -ing form
- swaying
From the library
The next thing he remembered was feeling hands on his legs and arms--hard, strong, little hands--and then a swash of branches in his face, and then he was staring down through the swaying boughs as Baloo woke the jungle with his deep cries and Bagheera bounded up the trunk with every tooth bared.
The last words were shrieked as he was being swung through the air, but Rann nodded and rose up till he looked no bigger than a speck of dust, and there he hung, watching with his telescope eyes the swaying of the treetops as Mowgli’s escort whirled along.
Mowgli turned and saw the great Python’s head swaying a foot above his own.
The lines of the monkeys swayed forward helplessly, and Baloo and Bagheera took one stiff step forward with them.
Other matches
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