- influence
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 effect sb/sth has; power to control sb/sthADJECTIVE▪ big, considerable, enormous, great, marked, significant, substantial, tremendous▪ growing, increasing▪ chief, dominant, major, overwhelming▪ powerful, profound, strong▪
He had a profound influence on modern poets.
▪ subtle▪ important▪ crucial, decisive▪ potential▪ continuing, enduring, lasting▪ improper, undue (law)▪The court found that the bank exerted undue influence over Mrs Black in getting her to sign the contract.
▪ disproportionate▪ beneficial, positive▪ adverse, corrosive, corrupting, destructive, disruptive, evil, malign (formal), negative, pernicious▪ moderating, stabilizing, steadying▪ calming, restraining▪ civilizing▪ direct, indirect▪ causal▪ mutual▪ relative▪This paper evaluates the relative influence of religions.
▪ far-reaching, pervasive, wide▪ external, outside▪The religious community wished to be independent of outside influence.
▪ peer▪the effects of peer influence on crime
▪ parental▪ foreign▪ cultural, economic, genetic, political, social, socioculturalVERB + INFLUENCE▪ have▪ gain▪ give sb▪Her wealth gave her influence over affairs of state.
▪ assert, exercise, exert, use, wield▪Can you use your influence with the director to get me a part in the movie?
▪Drug cartels wielded enormous influence in the city.
▪ retain▪ lose▪ expand, extend, increase, spread▪The unions have been able to extend their influence over all industries.
▪ minimize▪ eliminate, remove▪ limit▪ diminish, reduce▪ counter, counteract▪ avoid, escape, resist▪ be under▪The court was told that he was under the influence of alcohol when he was stopped by the police.
▪ come under, fall under▪She came under the influence of Sartre at this period.
▪ be independent of▪ demonstrate, reflect, reveal, show▪Spanish architecture shows Moorish influence.
▪ acknowledge, recognize, understand▪ analyse/analyze, assess, determine, evaluate, examine, explore, investigate, study▪They examined the influence of farm size on technology adoption.
▪ attribute sth to▪Much of his writing can be attributed to the influence of Freud.
▪ trace▪It's easy to trace the influence she's exerted on contemporary artists.
INFLUENCE + VERB▪ extend▪Their influence extended as far as China.
▪ grow▪The Internet's influence is growing every day.
▪ wane▪His political influence was waning.
PREPOSITION▪ under the influence▪The town grew under the influence of colonialism.
▪ influence from▪There was no influence from outside.
▪ influence in▪She has a certain amount of influence in the way things are organized.
▪ influence on, influence upon▪They were a major influence upon the development of the sport.
▪ influence over▪I have absolutely no influence over him.
▪ influence with▪He used his influence with local officials to gain commercial advantages.
▪Queen Isabella was urged to use her influence with the French monarch.
PHRASES▪ a sphere of influence▪Rome's sphere of influence extended as far as Scotland.
▪ bring your influence to bear on sb/sth▪She tried to bring her influence to bear on her husband.
▪ under the influence, under the influence of alcohol, under the influence of drink (BrE)▪He was arrested for driving under the influence (= drunk).
2 sb/sth that affects the way sb behaves/thinksADJECTIVE▪ big, considerable, great, significant, tremendous▪ dominant, major, overwhelming▪ powerful, profound, strong▪ important▪ obvious▪ lasting▪ early▪Who were your early influences?
▪ formative▪His uncle had been a formative influence from his earliest years.
▪ diverse▪He is a writer who draws upon diverse cultural influences.
▪ outside▪Parents often seek to shelter their children from outside influences
▪ good▪ adverse, bad, corrupting, destructive, disruptive, harmful, malign (formal), negative, pernicious▪ moderating, stabilizing, steadying▪ calming, restraining▪ civilizing▪ environmental, genetic▪ artistic, cultural, intellectual, literary, musicalVERB + INFLUENCE▪ be▪ have▪The band had many influences.
▪ be exposed to▪a study of children exposed to different cultural influences
▪ draw from, draw on, draw uponINFLUENCE + VERB▪ be at work▪There were a number of influences at work in Wright's architecture.
▪ affect sth, shape sthPREPOSITION▪ influence on▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}She's by far the biggest influence on my writing.
verbADVERB▪ considerably, deeply, dramatically, enormously, greatly, heavily, highly, markedly, powerfully, profoundly, strongly, substantially▪This book influenced her profoundly.
▪Attitudes are highly influenced by cultural background.
▪ increasingly▪ largely, mainly, primarily▪ partly, slightly▪ potentially▪ directly, indirectly▪Pressure from industry bosses has directly influenced government policy.
▪ clearly, obviously, undoubtedly▪ actively▪ critically, crucially, decisively, significantly▪ inevitably▪ favourably/favorably, positively▪actions that positively influence health
▪ adversely, negatively▪ overly, unduly▪Be aware of external factors which may unduly influence your judgement.
▪ geneticallyVERB + INFLUENCE▪ seem to▪ attempt to, seek to, try to▪We do not seek to influence the decision-making process.
PREPOSITION▪ in▪Her parents tried to influence her in her choice of university.
PHRASES▪ be easily influenced▪He was naive and easily influenced by his friends.
Influence is used with these nouns as the object: ↑attitude, ↑behaviour, ↑choice, ↑course, ↑debate, ↑decision, ↑design, ↑development, ↑direction, ↑effectiveness, ↑election, ↑evolution, ↑expectation, ↑fate, ↑future, ↑judgement, ↑likelihood, ↑movement, ↑outcome, ↑perception, ↑performance, ↑policy, ↑politics, ↑practice, ↑preference, ↑probability, ↑process, ↑response, ↑result, ↑shape, ↑situation, ↑success, ↑survival, ↑thinking, ↑vote, ↑voter
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
