The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - swayv.

1) wave, waver, swing, sweep, oscillate, undulate, reel, totter, swing or move to and fro or back and forth or from side to side or backwards and forwards, rock, fluctuate; bend, lean: The reeds swayed in the breeze. 2) move, incline, divert, tend, veer, tilt, lean, slant, bias; influence, persuade, impress, win over, bring round, convince, talk into: The wind is causing the trees to sway towards the east. We tried to sway him to our way of thinking. --n. 3) sweep, wave, swing, (period of) oscillation, libration: There must be a sway of twenty feet in the top of that skyscraper. 4) influence, control, power, command, authority, dominion, rule, sovereignty, leadership, mastery; grip, clutches, grasp: His ambition was to get the mountain people under his sway.