Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to wield
Participle: wielded
Gerund: wielding
Cognates
-
Indicative
Present
| I | wield |
| you | wield |
| he;she;it | wields |
| we | wield |
| you | wield |
| they | wield |
Perfect
| I | have wielded |
| you | have wielded |
| he;she;it | has wielded |
| we | have wielded |
| you | have wielded |
| they | have wielded |
Past
| I | wielded |
| you | wielded |
| he;she;it | wielded |
| we | wielded |
| you | wielded |
| they | wielded |
Pluperfect
| I | had wielded |
| you | had wielded |
| he;she;it | had wielded |
| we | had wielded |
| you | had wielded |
| they | had wielded |
Future
| I | will wield |
| you | will wield |
| he;she;it | will wield |
| we | will wield |
| you | will wield |
| they | will wield |
Future Perfect
| I | will have wielded |
| you | will have wielded |
| he;she;it | will have wielded |
| we | will have wielded |
| you | will have wielded |
| they | will have wielded |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | wield |
| you | wield |
| he;she;it | wield |
| we | wield |
| you | wield |
| they | wield |
Perfect
| I | have wielded |
| you | have wielded |
| he;she;it | have wielded |
| we | have wielded |
| you | have wielded |
| they | have wielded |
Imperfect
| I | wielded |
| you | wielded |
| he;she;it | wielded |
| we | wielded |
| you | wielded |
| they | wielded |
Pluperfect
| I | had wielded |
| you | had wielded |
| he;she;it | had wielded |
| we | had wielded |
| you | had wielded |
| they | had wielded |
Conditional
Present
| I | would wield |
| you | would wield |
| he;she;it | would wield |
| we | would wield |
| you | would wield |
| they | would wield |
Perfect
| I | would have wielded |
| you | would have wielded |
| he;she;it | would have wielded |
| we | would have wielded |
| you | would have wielded |
| they | would have wielded |
Imperative
| you | wield |
| we | Let's wield |
| you | wield |
Verbs conjugated like 'wield'
abandon,
abduct,
abear,
aberr,
abject,
abord,
abort,
abound,
abraid,
abray,
abrook,
abscind,
abscond,
absist,
absorb,
abstain,
abstract,
accend,
accent,
accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'wield'
bield,
field,
hield,
weld,
wild,
yield,
bewield,
ciel,
eld,
fiend,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
- use
- exercise, handle, utilize, operate, hold, control, manage
- brandish
- raise, life, flourish, swing, wave, shake, work
Antonyms
- use
- disuse, discard, ignore, suspend
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
1. O.E.
weldan (Mercian),
wieldan, wealdan (W.Saxon) "to govern, possess, have control over" (class VII strong verb; past tense
weold, pp.
gewealden), merged with weak verb
wyldan, both from P.Gmc.
*wal-t- (cf. O.S., Goth.
waldan, O.Fris.
walda "to govern, rule," O.N.
valda "to rule, wield, to cause," O.H.G.
waltan, Ger.
walten "to rule, govern"), probably from PIE
*waldh- (cf. O.C.S.
vlado "to rule,"
vlasti "power;" Lith.
veldu "to rule, possess"), from base
*wal- "to be strong, to rule" (see valiant).
2. From Middle English welden, from the merger of Old English wealdan (“to control, rule”) (strong class 7) and Old English wieldan (“to control, subdue”) (weak). Both verbs derive from Proto-West Germanic *waldan and *waldijan, respectively; and are ultimately from Proto-Germanic *waldaną (“to rule”).
3. The reason for the merger was that in Middle English the -d in the stem made it hard to distinguish between strong and weak forms in the past tense. See: Middle English '
welden', Old English '
wealdan', Old English '
wieldan', Proto-Germanic '
*waldaną'.
Verbs referencing "wield"
Russian
владеть, Macedonian
владее, Proto-Slavic
volděti, German, old spelling
walten.
Sample Sentences
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The question isn't whether AI will reshape human society—it's whether its engineers will wield that power thoughtfully. [2025 August 27, Dana Suskind, “AI Engineers Need Their Own Hippocratic Oath. Here’s What It Should Say”, in TIME, archived from the original on 30 Aug 2025:]
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There was never kyng sauff myselff that welded evir such knyghtes.
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There was never a king other than myself who ever commanded such knights. [Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur Book 5.Chapter 7]
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With such his chearefull speaches he doth wield / Her mind so well, that to his will she bends[…]. [1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:]
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All is weill done, God wate, weild he hys will. [a. 1513, Virgil, “VIII, prologue”, in Gawin Douglas [i.e., Gavin Douglas], transl., edited by [George Dundas], The Æneid of Virgil: Translated into Scottish Verse (Bannatyne Club, Publications; 64, no. 1), volume I, Edinburgh: T. Constable, printer, published 1839, →OCLC, page 448, line 1:]