governing

Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Wikipedia.

gov·ern

(gŭv′ərn)

v. gov·erned, gov·ern·ing, gov·erns

v.tr.

1. To make and administer the public policy and affairs of (a state, for example); exercise sovereign authority over.

2. To control the speed or magnitude of; regulate: a valve that governs fuel intake.

3. To control the actions or behavior of: Govern yourselves like civilized people.

4. To keep under control; restrain: a student who could not govern his impulses.

5. To exercise a deciding or determining influence on: Chance usually governs the outcome of the game.

6. Grammar To require (a specific morphological form) of accompanying words.

v.intr.

1. To exercise political authority.

2. To have or exercise a determining influence.

[Middle English governen, from Old French governer, from Latin gubernāre, from Greek kubernān.]

gov′ern·a·ble adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

governing

(ˈɡʌvənɪŋ)

adj

(Government, Politics & Diplomacy) having the power to direct and control the actions, affairs, policies, functions, etc, of a political unit, organization, nation, etc; rule

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

governing - the act of governing; exercising authority; "regulations for the governing of state prisons"; "he had considerable experience of government"

land reform - a redistribution of agricultural land (especially by government action)

squandermania - prodigious squandering (usually by a government)

price-fixing - control (by agreement among producers or by government) of the price of a commodity in interstate commerce

social control - control exerted (actively or passively) by group action

trust busting - (law) government activities seeking to dissolve corporate trusts and monopolies (especially under the United States antitrust laws)

devolvement, devolution - the delegation of authority (especially from a central to a regional government)

destabilisation, destabilization - the action of destabilizing; making something less stable (especially of a government or country or economy)

protest march - occasion when you can express opposition by marching (usually on some government institution) without a license

government - (government) the system or form by which a community or other political unit is governed; "tyrannical government"

paternalism - the attitude (of a person or a government) that subordinates should be controlled in a fatherly way for their own good

manifesto, pronunciamento - a public declaration of intentions (as issued by a political party or government)

authorities, government, regime - the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit; "the government reduced taxes"; "the matter was referred to higher authorities"

event planner - someone who plans social events as a profession (usually for government or corporate officials)

bounty, premium - payment or reward (especially from a government) for acts such as catching criminals or killing predatory animals or enlisting in the military

zero coupon bond, zero-coupon bond - a bond that is issued at a deep discount from its value at maturity and pays no interest during the life of the bond; the commonest form of zero-coupon security

office, power - (of a government or government official) holding an office means being in power; "being in office already gives a candidate a great advantage"; "during his first year in office"; "during his first year in power"; "the power of the president"

anarchy, lawlessness - a state of lawlessness and disorder (usually resulting from a failure of government)

federal - characterized by or constituting a form of government in which power is divided between one central and several regional authorities; "a federal system like that of the United States"; "federal governments often evolved out of confederations"

unitary - characterized by or constituting a form of government in which power is held by one central authority; "a unitary as opposed to a federal form of government"

Adj.

governing - responsible for making and enforcing rules and laws; "governing bodies"

dominant - exercising influence or control; "television plays a dominant role in molding public opinion"; "the dominant partner in the marriage"

governing

adjective ruling, controlling, commanding The league became the governing body for amateur fencing in the US.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

governing

adjective

Exercising controlling power or influence:

Translations

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

governing

adj

(Admin) committee → leitend; governing authority → Regierungsbehörde f; the governing class → die herrschende Klasse; governing council/board → Vorstand m; the governing party → die Regierungspartei

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007