influential

1 of 2

adjective

in·​flu·​en·​tial ˌin-(ˌ)flü-ˈen(t)-shəl How to pronounce influential (audio)
: exerting or possessing influence
influentially adverb

influential

2 of 2

noun

: one who has great influence

Examples of influential in a Sentence

Adjective His theories have become more influential in recent years. My parents have been the most influential people in my life.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
There are few books more influential on scholars’ understanding of class than historian E. P. Thompson’s 1963 The Making of the English Working Class, which discussed the role of laborers and artisans, drawing on their own subjective experiences, in forming the class as a coherent group. Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 2 Feb. 2025 Russia's influential community of military bloggers suggested that Moscow had used a Kronshtadt Orion missile-capable drone against the naval drone, the Institute for the Study of War (), a U.S. think tank following the conflict, said on Saturday. Ellie Cook, Newsweek, 2 Feb. 2025
Noun
To secure support from the elders and influentials, potential parliamentarians were reputed to have paid tens of thousands of dollars for a vote. Vanda Felbab-Brown, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2017 The pattern began in the Russian leader’s earliest days, when Boris A. Berezovsky, an oligarch influential in Mr. Putin’s rise, ran afoul of him and fled, treated for years as a public enemy before his death in Britain in 2013 under murky circumstances. Paul Sonne, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2023 See all Example Sentences for influential 

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1570, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1831, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of influential was in 1570

Dictionary Entries Near influential

Cite this Entry

“Influential.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/influential. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

influential

adjective
in·​flu·​en·​tial
ˌin-(ˌ)flü-ˈen-chəl
: having influence
influentially
-ˈench-(ə-)lē
adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on influential

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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