as in controlled
chiefly US
to try to oversee all the small parts of (something, such as an activity) in a way that is usually not wanted or that causes problems
He micromanaged every detail of the budget.
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Recent Examples of micromanaged
Fahim grew resentful of Cuomo, according to testimony during the trial, and felt he was being micromanaged.
—
Sean Emery, Oc Register, 13 May 2026
What once was an obstacle to allowing others to help, has come under new management, finally allowing the rest of the family to jump in on the action without fear of being micromanaged.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 18 Apr. 2026
As the clock counts down to Rachel and Nicky’s wedding, which is being micromanaged by Nicky’s sister Portia (Gus Birney), the Cunningham family reveals a few secrets of their own.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 2 Apr. 2026
You can’t be truly trusted if you are being micromanaged or scared to make a mistake.
—Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2026
Allen even complained that he was being micromanaged about a week before the Tamarac murders.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2025
Workers who are micromanaged report nearly double the stress compared with non-micromanaged workers, according to the 2023 Work in America Survey.
—Julia Sullivan, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2025
Their words painted a portrait of someone who micromanaged, monopolized the spotlight and rarely recognized individual contributions.
—Bill Koch, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Sean Emery, Oc Register, 13 May 2026
What once was an obstacle to allowing others to help, has come under new management, finally allowing the rest of the family to jump in on the action without fear of being micromanaged.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 18 Apr. 2026
As the clock counts down to Rachel and Nicky’s wedding, which is being micromanaged by Nicky’s sister Portia (Gus Birney), the Cunningham family reveals a few secrets of their own.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 2 Apr. 2026
You can’t be truly trusted if you are being micromanaged or scared to make a mistake.
—Rolling Stone Culture Council, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2026
Allen even complained that he was being micromanaged about a week before the Tamarac murders.
—Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2025
Workers who are micromanaged report nearly double the stress compared with non-micromanaged workers, according to the 2023 Work in America Survey.
—Julia Sullivan, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2025
Their words painted a portrait of someone who micromanaged, monopolized the spotlight and rarely recognized individual contributions.
—Bill Koch, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for micromanaged
Verb
-
Elinor Dashwood is the epitome of Sense—self-contained, controlled, restrained.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
-
Of California’s 58 counties, only in OC is the investment portfolio not controlled by the treasurer-tax collector.—
John Seiler,
Oc Register,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
Seydou Traore caught an impressive touchdown pass from Cam Miller, who was the third quarterback who handled all the snaps this week while Mark Gronowski, an undrafted rookie, watched the 11-on-11 periods.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
4 June 2026
-
Through a licensing partnership handled by IMG Licensing, Alex and Ani is turning characters, symbols and settings from Prythian into a line of collectible jewelry.—
Renan Botelho,
Footwear News,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
Benchmaxing, by contrast, is about the structural conditions under which the entire industry evaluates itself—and, the research argues, those conditions are routinely manipulated or ignored.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
8 June 2026
-
With enough optimization and intervention, their argument goes, the body can be manipulated into becoming fully knowable, mastered, perfect.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
But critics questioned if the arrangement fully addressed the core national security concerns that motivated the TikTok ban legislation in the first place because ByteDance was set to retain control of some of the US app’s operations.—
Clare Duffy,
CNN Money,
29 May 2026
-
The complaint, seen by The Athletic, was accompanied by a letter addressed to California attorney general Rob Bonta.—
Adam Crafton,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
The police negotiated the release of two hostages on Tuesday.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
3 June 2026
-
In fact, the city would be adopting a version of the reform agreement Louisville had previously negotiated with the Biden administration and hiring an outside monitor to oversee its progress.—
Topher Sanders,
ProPublica,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Color grading was supervised by Indian National Film Award-winning cinematographer Avik Mukhopadhyay.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
2 June 2026
-
Only a narrow set of exceptions apply, mostly for emergency aid workers, and those who cross the border will be subject to health screening and supervised isolation.—
Katrine L. Wallace,
The Conversation,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Importantly, supplements like colostrum are not regulated as rigorously as prescription medications by the FDA, which lead to concerns surrounding product quality, purity and consistency.—
Omer Awan,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
-
But because the title is not regulated, credentials matter.—
Emily Cegielski,
Flow Space,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
Brendan Banfield and the 26-year-old au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, both took the stand during the double-murder trial and offered conflicting accounts about the killings.—
Nicki Brown,
CNN Money,
5 June 2026
-
Throughout the trial, stress took an enormous toll on Jackson, defense attorney Mark Geragos said in the docuseries.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Micromanaged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/micromanaged. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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