Basic Details
Word: Influence
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: The power to change how someone thinks or acts, or how something develops; as a verb, to have that effect.
Synonyms: effect, impact, sway, power
How to Spell Influence
Syllables: in - flu - ence
Tricky part: The ending is ence, not ance, and the u after fl must stay: influance and influnce are wrong.
Watch out for: influance, influnce, infloence
Memory tip: Three parts: in-flu-ence. The last part is the ence of science and silence.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Our librarian had a big influence on my love of books.
Example 2: Bad weather can influence the result of a cricket match.
Example 3: The festival shows the influence of Portuguese food on Goan cooking.
Fun Fact
Influenza, the full name of the flu, is the Italian form of influence. People once believed the illness was caused by the influence of the stars.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The coach had a huge influance on the young sprinter, who trained every morning at dawn and went on to win a medal at the national games.
a) influance
b) trained
c) sprinter
d) national
Show answer
a) influance. Influence ends in ence; the ance of balance does not belong here.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to influence as used in the sentence:
Good friends can have a positive influence on your study habits.
a) reward
b) effect
c) distance
d) argument
Show answer
b) effect. A positive influence is a good effect on how you behave.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. encouragment 2. influence 3. persuasian 4. inspirasion
a) getting someone to agree by giving good reasons
b) the power to change how someone thinks or acts
c) words or actions that give someone hope or confidence
d) something that gives you new ideas or the wish to create
Show answer
b) the power to change how someone thinks or acts. Influence is right; persuasion ends in sion with an o, inspiration has a t, and encouragement keeps the e of encourage.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which adjective comes from influence?
a) influential
b) influencial
c) influentious
d) influenceful
Show answer
a) influential
2. The moon's influence on the sea causes ____.
a) rainbows
b) tides
c) volcanoes
d) earthquakes
Show answer
b) tides
