1
as in domineering
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in regulating
to keep from exceeding a desirable degree or level (as of expression)
you must learn to control your temper
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in containing
to gain emotional or mental control of
he controlled himself only with the greatest difficulty in the face of his opponent's insulting remarks
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3
as in governing
to exercise authority or power over
circumstances often control the choices we make in life
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4
as in managing
to look after and make decisions about
during the period that she controlled the company it was highly profitable
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of controlling
Chris Deubert, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Small controlling actions can become bigger controlling actions.
—Thomas Westerholm, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 11 Feb. 2026
The royal government was also known as a dictatorship for banning political parties, suppressing revolts and political opposition, controlling the press and having its own secret police force called SAVAK.
—Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for controlling
Adjective
In recent years, all of the major North American sports leagues have changed their ownership rules to permit specialist private equity funds to buy non-controlling stakes in their clubs under strict rules.
—Chris Deubert, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Small controlling actions can become bigger controlling actions.
—Thomas Westerholm, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Verb
Investors in this study include everything from giant companies controlling thousands of houses to folks with a small collection of rentals to short-term rental operators to people with a second home.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 11 Feb. 2026
The royal government was also known as a dictatorship for banning political parties, suppressing revolts and political opposition, controlling the press and having its own secret police force called SAVAK.
—Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for controlling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for controlling
Adjective
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This is the rare movie adaptation that does cover the second half of the book, and our first glimpse of Heathcliff is as the domineering terror of his later years.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Even though Kenneth was the one to shoot Sheridan, both the jury and the judge accepted the prosecution's argument that Ronald was the domineering brother and had planned and directed the killing.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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You’re supposed to win when that happens … except that the two Dodgers starters, Shohei Ohtani and Blake Snell, were equally dominating.—
Jayson Stark,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The bill wouldn’t legalize the practice or set up an oversight structure regulating it, as the state did with marijuana and Nevada has done with prostitution in several counties.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
17 Feb. 2026
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Additionally, sprouted whole grain bread is significantly higher in blood pressure-regulating minerals, such as magnesium, than bread made with refined white flour.—
Jillian Kubala,
Health,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In this study, P-free and P-containing glasses and glass ceramics were synthesized and evaluated using various analytical methods to clarify the influence of P addition on the glass structure and state of P after crystallization.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Feb. 2026
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The dish gets all of its flavor from a rice mixture containing onions, peppers, tomatoes, and bacon that roasts in the pan alongside the chicken.—
Melinda Salchert,
Southern Living,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Then the governing federations for each individual Olympic sport would need to vote to end their bans.—
Kevin Baxter,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Fidesz has not released a program, arguing that after governing for 16 years, its voters know what kinds of policies to expect.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
City staff is evaluating options for managing the orchard, including working with existing staff.—
Anne Gelhaus,
Mercury News,
15 Feb. 2026
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With a dual perspective, this novel follows Maya managing her grief and facing the past while mothers in China are forced to give up their own daughters.—
Amanda Favazza,
Southern Living,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In this war lawyers invariably are depicted as soulless and grasping ambulance-chasers unconcerned about their clients’ welfare, and businesses as, well, soulless, grasping and unconcerned about their customers.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Jan. 2026
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The grasping big toe also suggested this human relative spent more time in the trees.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Affleck excels here in a tremendously off-putting role (seemingly the one he was born to play), but the film's most cogent, exciting moments come when Lonergan splits off to show us the town's bizarre side characters.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Jan. 2026
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Among the dozens of books that have attempted to identify the forces that U.S. President Donald Trump rode to power, this is one of the most closely reported and cogent.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
30 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Controlling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/controlling. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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