influence

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a (person) of substance

Someone who has a lot of power, money, or influence. I think my parents were disappointed that I chose not to marry a woman of substance, but they seem to have gotten over it. Despite being a humble shop owner, his interactions with every person of the community has made him a person of substance in the eyes of the people here.

area of influence

A realm, domain, or field over which a person, group, or business has direct control, influence, or clout. It refers to a military term for the geographical area in which a commander has direct military influence. As a literature professor, my primary obligation is to my classes; as head of this department, though, my area of influence extends to all students studying English.

backstairs influence

Influence from an ignoble source, typically one that is secret. Where did that idea come from? It's like someone has backstairs influence over you all of sudden!

See also: influence

under the influence

Intoxicated. A shortening of "under the influence of alcohol (or drugs)." The police pulled him over for driving under the influence.

See also: influence

under the influence of alcohol

Drunk. The police pulled him over for driving under the influence of alcohol.

*a hold on someone a strong

and secure influence on someone

(*Typically: get ~; have ~; give someone~.) The strange religion seemed to have a strong hold on its followers. The drug has a hold on the minds of those who use it.

under the influence (of alcohol)

Euph. drunk; nearly drunk; affected by alcohol. She behaves quite rudely when under the influence of alcohol. Ed was stopped by a police officer for driving while under the influence.

See also: influence

under the influence

Impaired functioning owing to alcohol consumption, as in He was accused of driving under the influence. This expression, from legal jargon, is short for under the influence of intoxicating liquor and implies that one is not completely drunk. Since it is nearly always applied to drivers suspected or so accused, it has given rise to the police acronym DUI, for "driving under the influence." [Second half of 1800s]

See also: influence

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

under the influence

affected by alcoholic drink, especially beyond the legal limits for driving a vehicle; drunk. informal

See also: influence

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

under the ˈinfluence

(used of somebody driving a car) having had too much alcohol to drink: She was fined £500 for driving under the influence.

See also: influence

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

under the influence

Intoxicated, especially with alcohol.

See also: influence

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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References in periodicals archive ?

So, when your offer meets people's needs or caters to their interests, influence occurs.

How to lead without a title

The global result shows that 58 percent of total respondents classified Pakistan's influence on the world as mainly negative; while 18 percent classified it as 'mainly positive'.

47pc Pakistanis perceive Pakistan's influence on world as mainly positive: survey

To further advance the understanding of the two mechanisms, we examined parental power as a boundary condition for the two main effects of social influence: Firstly, the parent-child relationship is a basic element in successful family functioning (Grusec, 2011), and parental power is an integral feature reflecting the heterogeneity of this relationship (McDonald, 1980).

Intergenerational influence on adolescents' proenvironmental behavior

When you look at the old-school tactics that salespeople use, they're closer to coercion than influence. They're no longer effective or useful to professional salespeople.

How to become a person of influence

Americans who report being dissatisfied with the influence of religion were asked if they would like to see organized religion have more influence, less influence or keep its influence as it is now.

U.S. Satisfaction With Religion Settling at Lower Levels

Likewise, publicly consumed necessities attracted more peer influence than private consumed luxuries and privately consumed necessities.

Peer influence and purchase of different products: evidence from Iran young adults

"Based on social developmental model research, we thought friends would have more influence on cigarette use during high school than junior high school," first author Yue Liao, M.P.H., Ph.D., a student in the department of preventive medicine's Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research (IPR) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, said.

Friends and parents influence smoking among teens during junior high school

There's influence in everything an organization does, and sometimes in what it doesn't do, and yet despite this we often apportion responsibility for influence to marketing and PR departments.

A measure of influence: author and social media expert Philip Sheldrake explains what influence means in today's complex communication world

* An effective five-step consulting process to influence executives

Elizabeth Larson and Richard Larson Announce Release of Their New Book, The Influencing Formula: How to Become a Trusted Advisor and Influence Without Authority

That other person used their influence to get me to join and then again to become involved.

The essentials of leadership: "leading" and "managing" are two different things

Exploring the simultaneous effects of key variables on the unhealthy consumption behavior of adolescents, two studies focused on the relative effects of advertising, parental and peer influence, and self-efficacy on adolescent tobacco use and alcohol consumption.

The effects of advertising, social influences, and self-efficacy on adolescent tobacco use and alcohol consumption

The choice is one that most students give due consideration and will likely have an important influence on future employment opportunities, compensation, and job enjoyment.

MIS versus computer science: an empirical comparison of the influences on the students' choice of major

Sixty-eight percent of women choose a pharmacy based on convenience/location compared with only 48 percent of men, according to the Winter 2009 Ad-ology Media Influence on Consumer Choice survey.Women prefer to fill prescriptions at a grocery store pharmacy, with over twice as many females as males saying loyalty programs and rewards are very important.

Women More Likely to Choose Pharmacy by Location, Convenience

The organizational influence of the Chief Technology Officer; John W.

The organizational influence of the Chief Technology Officer

ERIC Descriptors: College Choice; Parent Participation; State Universities; Reputation; High School Students; Student Attitudes; Parent Role; Student Characteristics; Parent Influence; College Bound Students; Gender Differences; Racial Differences; Family Income; Educational Attainment; Peer Influence

Institutional Brand and Parental Influence on College Choice: A Noel-Levitz Benchmark Psychographic Study. Noel-Levitz Research Report