influential

What it means

1. Having or exerting influence.

   Jane was very influential in getting the motion passed.

   2 more examples

   John Lennon was a very influential person in music, as well as in politics, fashion and general culture.

   A parent/child relationship during adolescence is a time when youngsters often crave independence and when their peers are often more influential than adults.

   1986, A. Billy S. Jones, “A Father's Need; A Parent's Desire”, in Joseph Beam, editor, In The Life: A Black Gay Anthology, page 147

   Synonyms: swayful

In a sentence

John Lennon was a very influential person in music, as well as in politics, fashion and general culture.

Where it comes from

1. Medieval Latinīnfluentiālis
2. Englishinfluential

From Medieval Latin īnfluentiālis, from īnfluentia + -ālis. By surface analysis, influence + -ial.