sphere of influence
4
6.8
- noun
- /sfɪr ʌv ˈɪnfluəns/
:
esfera de influencia
- Saudi Arabia has long sought to keep Yemen within its sphere of influence.
- expand your sphere of influence
- Russia's sphere of influence
- superpowers sought regional spheres of influence
He is determined to recreate a sphere of influence around Russia's borders.
- He is determined to recreate a sphere of influence around Russia's borders.
- Your challenge is Russia wants to impose a closed sphere of influence on its neighbors.
- They've all of these other peoples in the Russian sphere of influence have have not stood up.
Examples
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Look how much better the Soviets handle the national aspirations of countries in their sphere of influence.
Academic text (1993) -
The women explained that villages were politically autonomous, but a few Chinook chiefs had broad spheres of influence.
Academic text (2007) -
Your challenge is Russia wants to impose a closed sphere of influence on its neighbors.
-
As a consequence, the Western Hemisphere remains a US sphere of influence.
Academic text (1993) -
And the West, Putin thought, would do nothing about his efforts to carve out a real sphere of influence.
Academic text (2015) -
Thus, the 1950s brought Nepal closer to India's sphere of influence.
Academic text (1992) -
Iran considers northern and western Afghanistan as its sphere of influence since its population speaks Persian Dari.
Blog text (34) -
The relationship between Rwanda and Uganda deteriorated, and each laid claim to its own sphere of influence.
Academic text (2004) -
Their perceived spheres of influence overlap in the Caucasus and the Caspian.
Academic text (2007) -
Russia has sought to expand its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe through diplomatic and economic means.
Synonyms
120
4.8
A part of life, work or society where people act and have influence
24
6.0
The group of people and things that are part of someone's life or work
How Influential
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'sphere' denotes a domain or area and 'influence' denotes the capacity to affect, with 'of' linking them, so a B1 learner who knows the parts can infer 'an area in which someone has influence'. The same construction exists in many languages (e.g. Spanish 'esfera de influencia', French 'sphère d'influence'), supporting cross-linguistic transparency.
Etymology
Sphere of influence comes from old maps and politics: powerful countries would draw a circle around lands they could reach or affect. The bold sphere is the round area and influence is the power 'to affect' others, so the phrase means the area where a country can make things happen without full control.