GOVERNS Synonyms: 98 Similar and Opposite Words

governs

verb

present tense third-person singular of govern

as in rules

to exercise authority or power over the president is elected in order to govern the country, not to follow public opinion polls

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in regulates

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in operates

to look after and make decisions about the company's finances are governed by its chief financial officer

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 governs The comment was a reference to the once-in-a-decade review of the BBC’s royal charter, which governs its operations and priorities. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 14 July 2026 Community advocates have largely pushed for an ordinance, a local law that typically governs the actions of the general public. — Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 13 July 2026 Beyond spectrum, the same scarcity governs orbital slots, which are handed out first-come, first-served, so the biggest constellations race to file before rivals can. — Charlotte Kiang, Forbes.com, 9 July 2026 The Texas Center for Arts and Academics governs two public charter schools, one in Fort Worth. — Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 July 2026 In astrology, Mercury governs communication, language, ideas and public discourse, while Cancer is associated with memory, ancestry and the past. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 4 July 2026 The Clean Air Act is the federal law that regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources and governs air pollution. — Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 3 July 2026 Organizers ruled North American country could compete after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which governs the song contest, allowed the CBC/Radio-Canada fully into its fold last week. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 2 July 2026 Consumer Watchdog contended in its lawsuit that the surcharges violated Proposition 103 — the 1988 measure that governs insurer rate hikes — because the proposition does not allow for them. — Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for governs

Verb

Disclosure rules under the ESPR, which big businesses are already expected to comply with, will also take effect for their medium-sized counterparts in 2030.

— Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 14 July 2026
Similarly, a party may take a view of a legal issue which is entirely reasonable but later the court rules otherwise.

— Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

Definition of rules

Verb

Kalshi agrees with the federal government that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — which regulates swaps and derivatives — has the sole power to regulate prediction markets.

— Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 19 July 2026
Asked for help Just four arson and bomb investigators work for the state fire marshal, the division that regulates fireworks.

— Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 17 July 2026

Definition of regulates

Verb

The local federation operates a number of programs directly and supports a wide range of education, cultural, religious and security initiatives meant to strengthen the Jewish community.

— Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 13 July 2026
Gran Grif operates in the country’s heartland, where dozens of houses were looted and burned and during a predawn assault in March in the town of Jean-Denis in the Lower Artibonite region.

— Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 13 July 2026

Definition of operates

Verb

Ify’s box contains a fake $100 bill, but Catherine decides to keep her box.

— Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 14 July 2026
Their saliva contains a sugar molecule found in mammalian products that, when introduced to us through their bite, can trigger an allergy to red meat and sometimes dairy.

— Meg Tirrell, CNN Money, 14 July 2026

Definition of contains

Verb

David Smith, who supervises the district’s aedes crew, said his team has received an increasing number of service requests for day-biting mosquitoes within the neighborhood.

— Alula Alderson, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026
View on Spotify Randall Poster, Air Mail’s Music Editor, supervises the music in movies.

— Air Mail, Air Mail, 4 July 2026

Definition of supervises

Verb

Unlike conventional infrared systems that rely on bulky mechanical components to change focus, the new design controls light electronically at the level of individual microscopic pixels.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 13 July 2026
Government departments and businesses can keep using Amazon or Microsoft cloud infrastructure—but Valarian’s layer controls exactly what data leaves, who touches it, and when.

— Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 13 July 2026

Definition of controls

Verb

For families juggling grocery bills and hectic mornings, that math is the reason Dollar Tree’s protein aisle keeps showing up on shopper roundups and social feeds.

— Lauren Jarvis-Gibson July 16, Kansas City Star, 16 July 2026
The room blends Italian comfort with NoDa edge, which gives it a looseness that keeps the food from feeling overly precious.

— Rafael Peña, Miami Herald, 16 July 2026