SWAYING Synonyms: 169 Similar and Opposite Words

swaying 1 of 3

adjective

as in lilting

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

swaying

2 of 3

noun

as in influencing

Related Words

swaying

3 of 3

verb

present participle of sway

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

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

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

The new Chandelier sandal, characterized by its serpent-spiral shape, is hand embroidered with more than 170 swaying drop beads made from multifaceted or transparent crystals. — Katie Abel, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026 Gerber was just 18 at the time, and appeared in the cover swaying and singing with Cara Delevingne and Ashley Benson. — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Aug. 2026 To me, what emerges from this swaying feels more natural than simply forging ahead with a predetermined, easily understood logic. — Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 Jordyn was admitted without delay, and before receiving her epidural, Haley and Kelsy stayed close, offering steady support through hip pressure, gentle swaying and laughter. — Christina Cardona, USA Today, 15 July 2026 During those exercises, the arresting officer wrote that Zenk showed multiple signs of impairment, including balance issues, swaying and difficulty following instructions. — Deirdre Durkan, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026 Residents described evacuating swaying buildings and seeing entire walls collapse. — Kaylah Jackson, NBC news, 25 June 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

Verb

Fear is not simply a tool for swaying the uninformed, undecided voter. — Monique Mitchell Turner, The Conversation, 23 Oct. 2026 The specialists working on the mission had to ensure the drone could carry a human being without flipping over or swaying excessively, according to the unit. — Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2026 The observer at the edge of the dance-floor, secretly swaying with the rhythm. — Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026 But the man simply stood there with a dazed expression on his face, swaying gently in the living room of their small, cramped flat, like a lone tree in the breeze. — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026 The surf was raging, completely enveloping the craft with only the swaying masts visible in the blackness of the night. — CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026 For more than three decades, his romantic ballads and hits have provided the soundtrack for couples swaying cheek-to-cheek to the sensual gouyad of konpa rhythms. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026 This prevents specialists from swaying recommendations based on conflicts of interest. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2026 The Daisy Chain crowd could be seen holding up their lights and swaying to the music. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for swaying

Adjective

The service From the lilting sawatdeekas to the wai greetings at every turn—the service here is textbook Thai.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
Her honeyed vocals are a powerful pairing for this track’s lilting, contemplative production.

— Lyndsey Havens, Billboard, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of lilting

Noun

Suleiman Sami’s business, S Sami Services LLC, provides transportation services, event ticket sales and social media influencing.

— Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 2 Sep. 2026
When students graduate, they'll be prepared for roles in content strategy, digital influencing, brand development, social media management and audience engagement across industries.

— Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of influencing

Verb

Sanders, who spoke alongside el Sayed in Grand Rapids, said Trump’s attacks on the Democratic candidate were rooted in Islamophobia because Republicans have little to say about the issues affecting working families.

— Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 26 Oct. 2026
Executives with the authority to make decisions affecting cybersecurity must carry appropriate accountability for those decisions.

— JC Gaillard, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of affecting

Verb

After a handful of supremely mellow releases that blended lurching ’90s breakbeats with wintry, Mazzy Star-like songwriting, their third album dives into a vat of mercurial distortion and slippery, all-consuming bass.

— Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 27 Oct. 2026
Irvine, who was commuting home from his job as a technician in a dark blue Volkswagen hatchback, came to an abrupt stop in free-flowing traffic, lurching to the far-right lane.

— Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of lurching

Adjective

His new album-length EP, cantu of the sower, merges these musical tabs into a collage of collages.

— Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 26 Oct. 2026
The plaintiffs’ lawyers noted in their filing that at least a half dozen suits currently pending in federal court in San Francisco related to musical compositions being improperly used to train artificial intelligence.

— James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of musical

Noun

Three dedicated Claude courses progress from basic prompting and research to reusable Skills, integrations, and multi-step AI workflows.

— StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 20 Oct. 2026
The researchers’ solution was to stop relying only on what the person was physically asking, either by action or direct prompting, and instead receive confirmation from the brain itself.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of prompting

Verb

After stepping into a bigger role with most of the Heat’s rotation regulars out and impressing in Saturday night’s preseason loss to the Timberwolves, Conwell again made some positive plays on Wednesday.

— Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026
The interior walls are patterned with motifs ranging from grapevines to geometric forms made by impressing food containers into the concrete.

— Tim Hornyak, New York Times, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of impressing

Browse Nearby Words

swayed

swaying

sways

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Swaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swaying. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of swaying

adjective

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

shindig

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes