govern

verb

ˈgə-vərn How to pronounce govern (audio)
Definition of governnext
1
as in to rule
to exercise authority or power over the president is elected in order to govern the country, not to follow public opinion polls

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2
as in to regulate
to keep from exceeding a desirable degree or level (as of expression) you need to govern your speech and be able to communicate your outrage without resorting to profanity

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to manage
to look after and make decisions about the company's finances are governed by its chief financial officer

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of govern Under the rules of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), which governs high school sports in the state, such a switch is permitted. — Matt Calkins Outkick, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026 Sepp Blatter, hoping to return to power as FIFA president, is banned for 90 days, essentially ending his 17-year reign as the leader of soccer’s governing body. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026 Receivership could follow a state emergency loan, stripping the school board of its governing authority, replacing the superintendent and placing the district under strict state oversight until the loan is repaid with interest. — Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 9 Oct. 2026 The role will also oversee political giving as the company seeks a bigger voice in how Washington governs AI. — Diane Brady, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for govern
Recent Examples of Synonyms for govern
  1. rule
  2. regulate
  3. manage
  4. control
  5. contain
  6. operate
  7. keep
  8. oversee
Verb
  • Last month, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that the 4th Circuit had prematurely halted the rule, finding that the FCC must issue a decision on the Democratic candidates’ petition for review before the appeals court can get involved.
    — Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Mexico was struggling with debt crises, declining energy revenues, and the related breakdown of the ruling party’s half-century-old corporatist model, which had fostered a centralized, closed economy.
    — Robert B. Zoellick, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of rule
Verb
  • These tiny architects of the deep sea actively regulate microbial populations.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Leaning into many voters’ skepticism of artificial intelligence and data centers, Biss has also put forward a multipart plan to regulate the industry.
    — Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of regulate
Verb
  • The main idea of the company is to automate parts of these missions so personnel can concentrate on operational decisions rather than manually managing every aspect of a drone’s flight or sensor operation.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Graham’s poetry—as readers of The New York Review will know—somehow manages to reckon with the whole spectrum of human existence in the 2020s.
    — Matthew Aucoin, The New York Review of Books, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of manage
Verb
  • The regions of the brain that control emotion and memory, like the amygdala and hippocampus, also function differently during this altered state.
    — Jessica Sulima, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Which team’s backfield will help their team control the clock and potentially win the game?
    — OutKick, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of control
Verb
  • This post contains spoilers for The Diplomat Season 4, now streaming on Netflix.
    — Peter White, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The researchers started by making a single, long protein that contained the protease, the sequence it was designed to target, and a fluorescent protein.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of contain
Verb
  • This week, SpaceX moved one step closer to its goal of building its direct-to-device Starlink Mobile service after the FCC approved the aerospace company’s application to deploy and operate 15,000 next-generation Starlink satellites.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Wearable sensors could aid therapy The researchers envision garments that let users control video game characters or operate robots remotely.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of operate
Verb
  • Investors are keeping a close eye on the outlook of interest rates, after New York Federal Reserve President John Williams' recent comments put him at odds with the broader market and some other central bank members.
    — Justina Lee, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Tajdar Amrohi says that by the time the film was ready for release, his father didn’t have a penny to keep for himself and was deep in debt.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of keep
Verb
  • The list of senior executives did not answer the question of who would oversee the old Paramount and Warner Bros.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Florida has the nation’s busiest death chamber DeSantis, who leaves office in January, oversaw 19 executions in 2025, more than any other Florida governor in a single year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
    — David Fischer, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of oversee

Browse Nearby Words

gourmets
govern
governable
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Cite this Entry

“Govern.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/govern. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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