governance

noun

gov·​er·​nance ˈgə-vər-nən(t)s 

plural governances

: the act or process of governing or overseeing the control and direction of something (such as a country or an organization) : government

a centralized system of governance

the challenges of national governance

… the governance of amateur sport in America …

—P. S. Wood

… three years before he died, [Lionel] Trilling pressed the point that the way a nation thinks determines in the end the quality of its governance.

—Benjamin DeMott

Enron, and the corporate disasters that followed, forced many companies to get serious about governance.

—Louis Lavelle

Theirs was the perennial problem of quick-witted subjects under the governance of dull-witted administrators.

—Declan Kiberd

Michael Dukakis, at the 1988 Democratic convention, said governance was about competence, not ideology. He got it half right: Competence is important to governance, but ideology is critical …

—U.S. News & World Report

Synonyms

• government
• administration
• rule
• regime

Examples of governance in a Sentence

They have very different approaches to the governance of the city.

after World War II, the four Allied nations shared the governance of the territory of postwar Germany under the Allied Control Council

Recent Examples on the Web

Without governance, companies risk biased algorithms making unethical decisions, non-compliance with strict regulations in areas like finance and healthcare and a loss of transparency that erodes employee and customer trust. —Dutt Kalluri, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025

In 2023, ProSieben’s leadership openly rejected MFE’s push for deeper integration, citing concerns over governance and independence. —Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2025

While not universally binding, a moratorium would reinforce international norms, raise the political cost of going it alone, and help protect global ocean governance. —Kevin Green, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Aug. 2025

By 2023, the most common jurisdiction of incorporation was the Cayman Islands, known for its limited corporate governance and disclosure rules. —Ganesh Rao, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see govern

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing governance

• self-governance

Kids Definition

governance

noun

gov·​er·​nance ˈgəv-ər-nən(t)s 

: the exercise of control : government