sway vs tilt

sway

verb
  • To be drawn to one side by weight or influence; to lean; to incline. 

  • To influence or direct by power, authority, persuasion, or by moral force; to rule; to govern; to guide. Compare persuade. 

  • To move or wield with the hand; to swing; to wield. 

  • To bear sway; to rule; to govern. 

  • To hoist (a mast or yard) into position. 

  • To have weight or influence. 

  • To cause to incline or swing to one side, or backward and forward; to bias; to turn; to bend; warp. 

  • To move or swing from side to side; or backward and forward; to rock. 

noun
  • The act of swaying; a swaying motion; a swing or sweep of a weapon. 

  • Preponderance; turn or cast of balance. 

  • Rule; dominion; control; power. 

  • A switch or rod used by thatchers to bind their work. 

  • The maximum amplitude of a vehicle's lateral motion. 

  • A rocking or swinging motion. 

  • Influence, weight, or authority that inclines to one side 

tilt

verb
  • To slope or incline (something); to slant. 

  • To point or thrust (a weapon). 

  • To intentionally let the ball fall down to the drain by disabling flippers and most targets, done as a punishment to the player when the machine is nudged too violently or frequently. 

  • To play worse than usual (often as a result of previous bad luck or losses). 

  • To charge (at someone) with a lance. 

  • To forge (something) with a tilt hammer. 

  • To be at an angle. 

  • To point or thrust a weapon at. 

  • To cover with a tilt, or awning. 

noun
  • An attempt at something, such as a tilt at public office. 

  • A jousting contest. (countable) 

  • A canvas covering for carts, boats, etc. 

  • Any covering overhead; especially, a tent. 

  • The controlled vertical movement of a camera, or a device to achieve this. 

  • A thrust, as with a lance. 

  • A tilt hammer. 

  • A slope or inclination. 

  • The inclination of part of the body, such as backbone, pelvis, head, etc. 

How often have the words sway and tilt occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )