Suede and swayed are two words that are sometimes confused. Though they are pronounced the same way, they are spelled differently and have different meanings. They are homophones. We will look at the meanings of the words suede and swayed, where these words come from and some examples of their use in sentences.
Suede is a type of leather in which the flesh side is treated in a way that renders it velvety soft. Lamb, goat, calf and deer hides are the primary sources of suede. Because of its pliability, suede is most often used in clothing. The term suede is derived from the French term gants de Suède, which literally translates as gloves of Sweden.
Swayed is the past tense of sway, which means to move slowly and perhaps rhythmically in a back-and-forth pattern. Sway may also describe a slow, back-and-forth movement. Sway is also used figuratively to mean to influence something or someone or control something or someone. Related words are sways, swaying. The word sway is derived from either the Old Norse word sveigja or the Old Danish word svegj, which means to swing or bend.
Examples
And fittingly, when he stepped out of the car, it was revealed he was wearing blue suede shoes which Priscilla fortunately did not stand on. (The Daily Mail)
Complementing the revival of fringe and denim, suede and bell bottoms this summer, hair trends are also paying homage to the rebellious ’70s. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
These low-information late deciding voters were swayed by the clumsy meddling of Comey and the skillful meddling of Putin through the hacking and leaking of emails. (The Montgomery Advertiser)
They swayed back and forth to both ease the nerves from attending their first inauguration and to stretch out sore muscles from standing for three hours. (The Salt Lake Tribune)