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
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in governing
to exercise authority or power over
circumstances often control the choices we make in life
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 20 Sep. 2025
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
Sam Amick, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2026
Sony Headphones Deals The Sony WH-1000XM5 sets the standard for silence with two processors controlling eight microphones to provide industry-leading noise cancellation.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 1 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for controlling
Adjective
In 2016, the USTA committed $6 million for a 20% non-controlling interest in Trident8, the parent company of the Laver Cup.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 20 Sep. 2025
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
Verb
Team staffers, so accustomed to controlling huge crowds of fans and media members who religiously show up 80 minutes before tipoff to watch the greatest pregame show on earth, have reported lower stress levels while on the job.
—Sam Amick, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2026
Sony Headphones Deals The Sony WH-1000XM5 sets the standard for silence with two processors controlling eight microphones to provide industry-leading noise cancellation.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 1 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for controlling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for controlling
Adjective
-
Netflix’s domineering presence, one that permeated every corner of a typically sacred day at the ballpark, had mercifully evaporated.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Wrapping production last October, Carrie is described as a reimagining of the story of misfit high schooler Carrie White, who has spent her life in seclusion with her domineering mother.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
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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Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, pointing to precedent on states regulating health care professionals.—
Nina Totenberg,
NPR,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Some 30 states now have laws regulating or banning the practice, according to Saint Louis University legal researchers.—
Lia Russell,
Sacbee.com,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Through a red chain-link curtain is a back room containing the likes of Screw, Al Goldstein’s erotic tabloid from the sixties and seventies.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The Jupiter-esque planet known as TOI-5205 b is the first exoplanet of its kind with an atmosphere containing far fewer heavy elements than similarly sized objects, as well as its own red dwarf star.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Brilliant, strong, visionary, a far different approach to governing as that nation’s first woman leader.—
Kevin Powell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Despite these risks, the five-year plans governing the expensive and time-consuming cleanups at the sites often failed to account for damage posed by flooding from sea-level rise and more frequent storms and wildfire, the IG’s review found.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Cooking, handling special requests and managing busy environments still depend on people.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Wait times listed on the MyTSA mobile app may not be accurate because TSA isn’t actively managing its sites during the shutdown.—
John Raby,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
Her former colleague, Paul Michel, says Newman is clear and cogent.—
Carrie Johnson,
NPR,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Many of the fragments spreading through the digital panopticon comprise real footage of real events, but their cumulative effect is far from a cogent portrait.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Controlling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/controlling. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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