From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Influence \In"flu*ence\ ([i^]n"fl[-u]*ens), noun [F. influence, fr. L. influens, -entis, p. pr. See {Influent}, and cf. {Influenza}.]
1. A flowing in or upon; influx. [Obs.]
God hath his influence into the very essence of all things. --Hooker.
2. Hence, in general, the bringing about of an effect, physical or moral, by a gradual process; controlling power quietly exerted; agency, force, or tendency of any kind which affects, modifies, or sways; as, the influence which the sun exerts on animal and vegetable life; the influence of education on the mind; the influence, according to astrologers, of the stars over affairs.
Astrologers call the evil influences of the stars, evil aspects. --Bacon.
Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? --Job xxxviii. 31.
She said : ''Ah, dearest lord! what evil star On you hath frown'd, and poured, his influence bad?'' --Spenser.
3. Power or authority arising from elevated station, excelence of character or intellect, wealth, etc.; reputation; acknowledged ascendency; as, he is a man of influence in the community.
Such influence hath your excellency. --Sir P. Sidney.
Syn: Control; persuasion; ascendency; sway; power; authority; supremacy; mastery; management; restraint; character; reputation; prestige.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Influence \In"flu*ence\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Influenced} ([i^]n"fl[-u]*enst); p. pr. & vb. n. {Influencing} ([i^]n"fl[-u]*en*s[i^]ng).] To control or move by power, physical or moral; to affect by gentle action; to exert an influence upon; to modify, bias, or sway; to affect; to move; to persuade; to induce.
These experiments succeed after the same manner in vacuo as in the open air, and therefore are not influenced by the weight or pressure of the atmosphere. --Sir I. Newton.
This standing revelation . . . is sufficient to influence their faith and practice, if they attend. --Attebury.
The principle which influenced their obedience has lost its efficacy. --Rogers.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a power to affect persons or events especially power based on prestige etc; "used her parents' influence to get the job"
2: causing something without any direct or apparent effort
3: a cognitive factor that tends to have an effect on what you do; "her wishes had a great influence on his thinking"
4: the effect of one thing (or person) on another; "the influence of mechanical action"
5: one having power to influence another; "she was the most important influence in my life"; "he was a bad influence on the children"
verb
1: have and exert influence or effect; "The artist's work influenced the young painter"; "She worked on her friends to support the political candidate" [syn: {act upon}, {work}]
2: shape or influence; give direction to; "experience often determines ability"; "mold public opinion" [syn: {determine}, {shape}, {mold}, {regulate}]
3: induce into action by using one's charm; "She charmed him into giving her all his money" [syn: {charm}, {tempt}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
250 Moby Thesaurus words for "influence": Rasputin, Svengali, VIP, access, acme, act on, act upon, actuation, advance, affect, alter, amperage, animation, armipotence, ascendancy, authority, authorization, bad influence, be-all and end-all, beef, behind-the-scenes influence, bend, bias, big wheel, black power, blue ribbon, bring, brute force, carry, championship, change, charge, charisma, clout, cogence, cogency, color, command, compulsion, concentrate on, conduce to, connections, consequence, contribute to, control, court, credit, decide, determine, devices, dint, direction, directorship, dispose, distort, dominance, domination, dominion, drag, drive, duress, effect, effectiveness, effectuality, eminence, eminence grise, energy, engage, enlist, expedients, favor, favoritism, first place, first prize, five-percenter, flower power, focus on, force, force majeure, forcefulness, forward, friend at court, full blast, full force, get, get to do, good influence, gray eminence, greatness, headship, heavyweight, hegemony, height, hidden hand, highest, hold, impact, imperium, importance, impress, impress upon, in, incline, induce, influence peddler, influencer, influentialness, ingroup, inner-direction, inspire, interest in, jaundice, jurisdiction, key, kingmaker, kingship, lead, lead to, leadership, leverage, lobby, lobbyist, lords of creation, lordship, lure, machination, main force, main strength, man of influence, mana, management, maneuvering, maneuvers, manipulate, manipulation, manipulator, mastership, mastery, maximum, might, might and main, mightiness, modify, moment, most, motivate, motivation, move, moving, moxie, muscle power, ne plus ultra, new high, open sesame, operate on, other-direction, palms, paramountcy, persuade, pizzazz, political influence, poop, potence, potency, potentiality, power, power pack, power structure, power struggle, powerfulness, powers that be, precedence, predispose, predominance, prejudice, prejudice against, prejudice the issue, prepossess, prepotency, presidency, pressure, pressure group, prestige, primacy, priority, procure, productiveness, productivity, prominence, prompt, prompting, puissance, pull, punch, push, rank, record, redound to, rule, say, seniority, sinew, sinister influence, soften up, sovereignty, special interests, special-interest group, stature, steam, stimulation, strength, strike, strong arm, subserve, superiority, superpower, supremacy, sway, tactical maneuvers, tactics, tempt, the Establishment, tinge, tone, top spot, touch, treat, turn the scale, twist, validity, vehemence, very important person, vigor, vim, virility, virtue, virulence, vitality, warp, wattage, wear down, weigh with, weight, weightiness, wheeler-dealer, wire-puller, wire-pulling, work, work on, zenith
From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:
INFLUENCE, noun In politics, a visionary _quo_ given in exchange for a substantial _quid_.
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