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

• administration
• authority
• government
• jurisdiction
• regime
• régime
• regimen
• rule

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

Republicans staged part of theirs at the White House, a radical break from tradition that mixed politics with the trappings of governance and prompted Democrats to charge the Trump administration with a litany of Hatch Act violations. —Jonathan Weisman, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024

In a massively expansive way, such a belief goes to the heart of our nation’s theory of governance. —The Editorial Board, Orange County Register, 5 Apr. 2024

The transformation would also require the entire company—its people, culture, workflow and governance—to be aligned so everyone can work toward the same mission. —Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 2 Apr. 2024

Miron had served on WBD’s compensation committee and Newhouse was on the board’s nomination and corporate governance committee. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 1 Apr. 2024

In the complex panorama of global financial governance, the Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB) stand as pivotal entities steering the economic fate of their respective jurisdictions. —Magdy Hassan Fayed, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

The ethical governance of AI is paramount, ensuring fairness, privacy and responsible data use, in harmony with the industry's ever-growing commitment to sustainability. —Sampo Parkkinen, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

Langenberg will remain with Banijay on a consultancy basis in the ESG (environment, social and governance) space. —Alex Ritman, Variety, 28 Mar. 2024

The bill — which Gov. Andy Beshear signed into law — prohibited the state's public pension systems from considering environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investment decisions. —Rebecca Grapevine, The Courier-Journal, 26 Mar. 2024

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