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influence

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noun

British English pronunciation: influence

/ˈɪnfluəns/

singular	influence
plural	influences

Related dictionary definitions

Get It Right!

1
[countable/uncountable] the effect that a person or thing has on someone’s decisions, opinions, or behaviour or on the way something happens
Without his famous father’s influence, he would never have got the job.
exert/exercise/use influence:
He couldn’t hope to exert any real influence in the new department.
influence on/over:
Teachers have considerable influence over what is taught in the classroom.
outside influence (=the influence of people who do not belong to your group):
The decision-making process will be free from outside influence.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of influence
2
[countable] a person or thing that has an effect on someone or something
influence on:
His years in Hollywood were artistically a very destructive influence on his films.
be a good/bad influence (on someone/something):
The family thought Anne was a good influence on their son.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of influence

phrase

under the influence
often humorous
drunk
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of influence

Get It Right!: influence

The usual preposition that follows the noun influence is on. Don’t use the preposition to:

✗ Television brings many benefits, but it can also have a bad influence to people.

✓ Television brings many benefits, but it can also have a bad influence on people.

✗ Cyber cafés have a positive influence to the economy.

✓ Cyber cafés have a positive influence on the economy.

The preposition over can also be used with influence, but it is much less frequent than on:

In reality, the government has limited influence over what happens.

This is the British English definition of influence. View American English definition of influence.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

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