wield
to exercise (power, authority, influence, etc.), as in ruling or dominating.
to use (a weapon, instrument, etc.) effectively; handle or employ actively.
Archaic. to guide or direct.
Archaic. to govern; manage.
Origin of wield
1Other words for wield
Other words from wield
- wield·a·ble, adjective
- wield·er, noun
- un·wield·a·ble, adjective
Words that may be confused with wield
- weald, wield
Words Nearby wield
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use wield in a sentence
Republicans who still hope to wield power through the system but disagree with its direction are left trying to figure out how to appeal to voters who want something they won’t provide.
What happens to an entrenched two-party system when one party undermines the system? | Philip Bump | February 12, 2021 | Washington PostThat faction won’t immediately wield power, but they might eventually gather more steam.
How Has The Nation Changed Since The Insurrection At The Capitol? | Micah Cohen (micah.cohen@fivethirtyeight.com) | February 11, 2021 | FiveThirtyEightSalsman allegedly targeted vulnerable women he felt he could wield power over, according to the charging document.
Senators, staff, media and police wielding automatic weapons grabbed lunches of chicken and beef.
Inside the assault on the Capitol: Evacuating the Senate | Paul Kane | January 7, 2021 | Washington PostCompassion, too, requires self-cultivation, and it means that harmful acts such as wielding one’s power to repress others have no place in Buddhist ethics.
But the last national figure to wield ancient personal authority in an explicitly religious way was Robert F. Kennedy.
They are elites, in short, even though they make less money and wield less power than others of that designation.
How Maurice Tomlinson Was Outed in Jamaica—and Forced Into Exile | Jay Michaelson | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFew sore losers could wield sharp words quite like Leon Trotsky, especially when talking about Joseph Stalin.
Kotkin Biography Reveals Stalin's Evil Pragmatism | William O’Connor | November 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTraditional authorities in social institutions such as churches wield less control too.
Women have been trying to wield Internet shame against men for years now to little avail.
Online Shaming Gives Creeps the Spotlight They Deserve | Samantha Allen | September 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTPublic opinion is mightier than Congress; and they who wield or control that do, in reality, bear rule.
Thoughts on Educational Topics and Institutions | George S. BoutwellOld Time is doing his work full well—Much less of might does the tyrant wield; But, ah!
The Book of Humorous Verse | VariousEvery Englishman who could wield a sword was called to the defense of his country.
A Treasury of Heroes and Heroines | Clayton EdwardsWho has not known such without longing for a whip of scorpions, and a strong arm to wield it?
The Life of Thomas Wanless, Peasant | Alexander Johnstone WilsonA hundred brawny arms, accustomed to wield the broad axe, had lent their aid to rear the mighty pile and feed the ravening flame.
The Wild Man of the West | R.M. Ballantyne
British Dictionary definitions for wield
/ (wiːld) /
to handle or use (a weapon, tool, etc)
to exert or maintain (power or authority)
obsolete to rule
Origin of wield
1Derived forms of wield
- wieldable, adjective
- wielder, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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