1 [U,C] ~ (on / upon sb/sth) the effect that sb/sth has on the way a person thinks or behaves or on the way that sth works or develops:
to have / exert a strong influence on sb * the influence of the climate on agricultural production * What exactly is the influence of television on children?
2 [U] ~ (over sb/sth) the power that sb/sth has to make sb/sth behave in a particular way:
Her parents no longer have any real influence over her. * She could probably exert her influence with the manager and get you a job. * He committed the crime under the influence of drugs.
3 [C] ~ (on sb/sth) somebody or something that affects the way a person behaves and thinks:
cultural / environmental influences * Those friends are a bad influence on her. * His first music teacher was a major influence in his life. * There seem to be several influences at work in (= affecting) his writing.
IDIOMS
under the influence having had too much alcohol to drink:
She was charged with driving under the influence.
Part of speech: verb
1 to have an effect on the way that sb behaves or thinks, especially by giving them an example to follow:
[VN] His writings have influenced the lives of millions. * to be strongly / greatly / deeply influenced by sth * Don't let me influence you either way. * The government refuses to be influenced by public opinion. * Research shows that most young smokers are influenced by their friends. * I don't want to influence you. It must be your own decision. * [Vwh-] The wording of questions can influence how people answer. [also VNtoinf]
2 to have an effect on a particular situation and the way that it develops:
[VN] A number of social factors influence life expectancy. * The local climate is influenced by the Gulf Stream. [also Vwh-]
Rate this entry
About this entry
This is a English–English dictionary entry.
Sourced from Main Dictionary in Lughet's collection.
This word also appears under other sources in Lughet's collection — see the list below.
Where does this definition of influence come from?
This entry for influence is sourced from Main Dictionary, one of the dictionaries and corpora merged into Lughet.
Is influence a noun, verb, or something else?
In this entry, influence is tagged as noun.
Does influence appear elsewhere on Lughet?
Yes — influence appears under other sources or language pairs in Lughet's collection. See the list below.
What is Lughet?
Lughet is a free trilingual dictionary covering nearly five million entries across Uyghur, Chinese, and English, drawn from more than ten source dictionaries and corpora.
