You use influence as a noun to refer to the power that someone or something has to affect people's behaviour or decisions.
If you want to mention the person or thing affected, you use on.
Be Careful!
You do not use 'influence' to refer to a change or event that is the result of something. The word you use is effect.
You can also use influence as a verb. You say that one person or thing influences another.
Imperative |
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influence |
influence |
Noun | 1. | ![]() power, powerfulness - possession of controlling influence; "the deterrent power of nuclear weapons"; "the power of his love saved her"; "his powerfulness was concealed by a gentle facade" force - a powerful effect or influence; "the force of his eloquence easily persuaded them" |
2. | influence - causing something without any direct or apparent effort cross-pollination - stimulating influence among diverse elements; "the cross-pollination of the arts" exposure - the act of subjecting someone to an influencing experience; "she denounced the exposure of children to pornography" impingement, encroachment, impact - influencing strongly; "they resented the impingement of American values on European culture" manipulation, use - exerting shrewd or devious influence especially for one's own advantage; "his manipulation of his friends was scandalous" enticement, temptation - the act of influencing by exciting hope or desire; "his enticements were shameless" | |
3. | influence - a cognitive factor that tends to have an effect on what you do; "her wishes had a great influence on his thinking" causal factor, determinant, determining factor, determinative, determiner - a determining or causal element or factor; "education is an important determinant of one's outlook on life" imponderable - a factor whose effects cannot be accurately assessed; "human behavior depends on many imponderables" imprint - a distinctive influence; "English stills bears the imprint of the Norman invasion" morale builder - something or someone who influences by building or strengthening morale canker, pestilence - a pernicious and malign influence that is hard to get rid of; "racism is a pestilence at the heart of the nation"; "according to him, I was the canker in their midst" support - something providing immaterial assistance to a person or cause or interest; "the policy found little public support"; "his faith was all the support he needed"; "the team enjoyed the support of their fans" enticement, temptation - something that seduces or has the quality to seduce | |
4. | influence - the effect of one thing (or person) on another; "the influence of mechanical action" consequence, effect, result, upshot, outcome, event, issue - a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon; "the magnetic effect was greater when the rod was lengthwise"; "his decision had depressing consequences for business"; "he acted very wise after the event" perturbation - (physics) a secondary influence on a system that causes it to deviate slightly purchase - a means of exerting influence or gaining advantage; "he could get no purchase on the situation" wind - a tendency or force that influences events; "the winds of change" | |
5. | influence - 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. | ![]() affect, bear upon, impact, bear on, touch on, touch - have an effect upon; "Will the new rules affect me?" prejudice, prepossess - influence (somebody's) opinion in advance militate - have force or influence; bring about an effect or change; "Politeness militated against this opinion being expressed" manipulate, pull strings, pull wires - influence or control shrewdly or deviously; "He manipulated public opinion in his favor" swing over, swing - influence decisively; "This action swung many votes over to his side" persuade, sway, carry - win approval or support for; "Carry all before one"; "His speech did not sway the voters" get at - influence by corruption fix - influence an event or its outcome by illegal means; "fix a race" dominate - be in control; "Her husband completely dominates her" |
2. | influence - shape or influence; give direction to; "experience often determines ability"; "mold public opinion" dispose, incline - make receptive or willing towards an action or attitude or belief; "Their language inclines us to believe them" disincline, indispose - make unwilling miscreate - shape or form or make badly; "Our miscreated fantasies" carry weight - have influence to a specified degree; "Her opinion carries a lot of weight" decide - influence or determine; "The vote in New Hampshire often decides the outcome of the Presidential election" reshape - shape anew or differently; "The new foreign minister reshaped the foreign policy of his country" time - set the speed, duration, or execution of; "we time the process to manufacture our cars very precisely" index - adjust through indexation; "The government indexes wages and prices" pace - regulate or set the pace of; "Pace your efforts" predetermine - determine beforehand | |
3. | influence - induce into action by using one's charm; "She charmed him into giving her all his money" persuade - cause somebody to adopt a certain position, belief, or course of action; twist somebody's arm; "You can't persuade me to buy this ugly vase!" |