Compel vs Sway - What's the difference?
compel | sway |
(transitive, archaic, literally) To drive together, round up (rfex)
To overpower; to subdue.
* 1917 , , King Coal , ch. 16,
To force, constrain or coerce.
* 1600 , , Julius Caesar , act 5, sc. 1,
* Hallam
To exact, extort, (make) produce by force.
* Shakespeare
* 1912 , , Sky Island , ch. 14,
(obsolete) To force to yield; to overpower; to subjugate.
* Dryden
* Tennyson
(obsolete) To gather or unite in a crowd or company.
* Dryden
(obsolete) To call forth; to summon.
* Spenser
The act of swaying; a swaying motion; a swing or sweep of a weapon.
A rocking or swinging motion.
Influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side; as, the sway of desires.
Preponderance; turn or cast of balance.
Rule; dominion; control.
A switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work.
The maximum amplitude of a vehicle's lateral motion
To move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward; to rock.
:
*
*:Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.
To move or wield with the hand; to swing; to wield.
:
*(Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
*:As sparkles from the anvil rise, / When heavy hammers on the wedge are swayed .
To influence or direct by power, authority, persuasion, or by moral force; to rule; to govern; to guide. Compare persuade .
:
*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
*:This was the race / To sway the world, and land and sea subdue.
To cause to incline or swing to one side, or backward and forward; to bias; to turn; to bend; warp.
:
*(John Tillotson) (1630-1694)
*:Let not temporal and little advantages sway you against a more durable interest.
(lb) To hoist (a mast or yard) into position.
:
To be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean; to incline.
*(Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
*:The balance sways on our part.
To have weight or influence.
*(Richard Hooker) (1554-1600)
*:The example of sundry churchesdoth sway much.
To bear sway; to rule; to govern.
*(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
*:Hadst thou swayed as kings should do.
As verbs the difference between compel and sway
is that compel is (transitive|archaic|literally) to drive together, round up while sway is to move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward; to rock.As a noun sway is
the act of swaying; a swaying motion; a swing or sweep of a weapon.compel
English
Verb
- She had one of those perfect faces, which irresistibly compel the soul of a man.
- Logic compels''' the wise, while fools feel '''compelled by emotions.
- Against my will, / As Pompey was, am I compell’d to set / Upon one battle all our liberties.
- Wolsey compelled the people to pay up the whole subsidy at once.
- Commissions, which compel from each / The sixth part of his substance.
- The Queen has nothing but the power to execute the laws, to adjust grievances and to compel order.
- Easy sleep their weary limbs compelled .
- I compel all creatures to my will.
- in one troop compelled
- She had this knight from far compelled .
- (Chapman)
Derived terms
* compellable * compeller * compelling * compellation * compel testimonyReferences
* * * Random House Webster’s Unabridged Electronic Dictionary , 1987-1996. English control verbs English transitive verbssway
English
(wikipedia sway)Noun
(en noun)- The old song caused a little sway in everyone in the room.
- I doubt I'll hold much sway with someone so powerful.
