Sway vs Coax - What's the difference?
sway | coax |
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.
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*: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.
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*(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 .
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*(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.
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*(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.
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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.
(obsolete) To fondle, kid, pet, tease.
To wheedle, persuade (a person, organisation, animal etc.) gradually or by use of flattery to do something.
* , chapter=6
, title= * 12 July 2012 , Sam Adams, AV Club Ice Age: Continental Drift
To carefully manipulate into a particular desired state, situation or position.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=(Henry Petroski)
, title= (obsolete) A simpleton; a dupe.
As nouns the difference between sway and coax
is that sway is the act of swaying; a swaying motion; a swing or sweep of a weapon while coax is (obsolete) a simpleton; a dupe or coax can be .As verbs the difference between sway and coax
is that sway is to move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward; to rock while coax is (obsolete) to fondle, kid, pet, tease.sway
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.
Verb
(en verb)See also
* persuadeAnagrams
* * English ergative verbscoax
English
Etymology 1
originally (1586) in the slang phrase to make a coax of , from earlier noun coax, cox, cokes "fool, simpleton", itself of obscure origin, perhaps related to cock (male bird, pert boy). The modern spelling is from 1706.Verb
Mr. Pratt's Patients, passage=She was so mad she wouldn't speak to me for quite a spell, but at last I coaxed her into going up to Miss Emmeline's room and fetching down a tintype of the missing Deacon man.}}
- On paper, Continental Drift boasts a jaw-dropping voice cast, including but not limited to Jennifer Lopez, Patrick Stewart, Wanda Sykes, Aziz Ansari, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Nicki Minaj, Drake, and Alan Tudyk. But in practice, the overstuffed ensemble leaves the cast no room to distinguish themselves, and directors Steve Martino and Michael Thurmeier don’t seem interested in coaxing performances that might render their money stars less identifiable.
Geothermal Energy, volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame.}}
Synonyms
* (persuade gradually) cajole, persuade, wheedle * (manipulate carefully into position) easeNoun
(es)- (Beaumont and Fletcher)