influence
Verbinfluences, influencing, influenced
Noun pluralinfluences
Formsinfluences, influencing, influenced
Pluralinfluences
- 1To change what someone thinks or does, or how something happens, often in a quiet way.
Like wind slowly bending a young tree as it grows.
Good teachers can influence the way children see the world.
Ads are designed to influence what we buy.
UsageSay influence someone, with no on after it (not
incorrect: influence onsomeone). - 2The power to change what people think or do, or how things happen, or the effect this has.
Like a magnet that quietly pulls things toward it.
Her older brother had a big influence on the music she liked.
Money can have too much influence on politics.
UsageSay an influence on something, or influence over a person.
- 3A person or thing that has the power to change others.
Like a guide who quietly shapes which path you take.
His grandmother was a calming influence in the house.
Bad friends can be a harmful influence on teenagers.
UsageSay a good influence or a bad influence on someone.
Similarinspiration, force
Note
Less common meanings
- 4A force from the stars and planets that some people believe shapes who you are at birth.
Like a stamp pressed into wax, leaving a mark from the moment you are born.
Astrologers say the planets' influence helped form your personality.
Some believe the stars' influence at birth guides your whole life.
UsageSay the influence of the stars or a planet.
Note
- 5The act of flowing into something.
God hath his influence into the very essence of all things.
1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical PolitieHere, influence means a flowing into something.Note
- 6To make something flow into something else, or to put a quality or idea into someone or something.
Note
- 7Electric charges shifting within an object because another charged object is brought near it, without touching it.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of influence apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
It comes from Latin, from a word meaning "to flow into," made from in- ("in") plus fluō ("flow"). It reached English through Old French and Medieval Latin.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
- Influence ultimately comes from Latin. en.wiktionary.org
- Its Latin ancestor means "to flow into." en.wiktionary.org
- The Latin verb is formed from in- plus fluō, meaning "flow." en.wiktionary.org
- Latin in- means "in." en.wiktionary.org
- The word reached English through Old French and Medieval Latin. en.wiktionary.org