MICROMANAGING Synonyms: 46 Similar and Opposite Words

micromanaging

verb

present participle of micromanage

as in controlling

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.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar 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 micromanaging My amendment accomplishes this goal simply by granting an antitrust exemption so that college athletes and schools can make their own deals, without unelected judges or politicians micromanaging every detail of compensation and eligibility. — Sen. Rand Paul Outkick, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026 Avoid micromanaging; instead, delegate tasks, show confidence in others, and encourage them to do their best. — Terri Eagle, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 The document itself is an odd grab-bag of micromanaging grant processes, assertion of presidential power, and airing of cultural grievances. — ArsTechnica, 29 May 2026 Hollywood became Hollywood long before Sacramento began micromanaging economic development. — Will Swaim, Oc Register, 13 May 2026 And while Meta’s future looks more uncertain than ever, Zuckerberg has turned his attention towards building a photorealistic AI clone of himself to make his micromanaging presence omnipresent throughout the company. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 13 May 2026 Fahim, a financial analyst, was reportedly frustrated by the amount of work Cuomo would assign him, and had claimed Cuomo was micromanaging him. — Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 12 May 2026 Instead, Putin spends more time in underground bunkers micromanaging his war, paranoid about a coup or an assassination attempt by Ukrainian drones, sources told the Financial Times. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 9 May 2026 That didn’t appear to be the case in this instance; this was personal animosity—a secretary who was micromanaging personnel decisions in the Army, looking to put his own stamp on that service. — Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 9 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for micromanaging

Verb

Virginia did a good job controlling SMU for long stretches, but a few big plays negated all that.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Since Oppenheim and Fielder can’t record her there, their contact is mediated through her seemingly unstable and controlling husband, Billy Evans.

— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of controlling

Verb

Screen Queensland is on board, with Kismet distributing locally and Cornerstone handling international sales.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
The iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max push the boundaries of what mobile phones can do, such as handling on-device Siri AI calculations and running computational photography algorithms to deliver the best possible images.

— Eric Zeman, PC Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of handling

Verb

Gilbert shared a post to his Instagram story responding to the outcry from fans of the actor over the weekend, addressing claims that Danny is pro-ICE or supports Shapiro’s politics.

— Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
Caplan said that Weiss’s consistent internal communication on his action plan—addressing nine areas, including facilities, visitor experience, technology, and security—has already helped with morale.

— Hilarie M. Sheets, ARTnews.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of addressing

Verb

Present-day police work reflects our current economic order by placing a high value on manipulating such immaterialities.

— Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
According to Treasury, Galeano had been detained in the United States in 2017 on suspicion of manipulating ATMs and was found with drugs and backpacks containing a large amount of cash.

— Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of manipulating

Verb

He gets pummeled by waves and rip currents while negotiating the famously difficult shore dive but is soon swimming among brightly colored marine life and undulating kelp forests that filter sunlight from the surface.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026
The more balanced market gives home shoppers potentially more leverage in negotiating better terms with sellers, especially if a property has not fetched offers in weeks or months.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of negotiating

Verb

The surge in profits has been driven by robust trading in stocks, bonds and currencies, fees from supervising and advising clients’ investments, underwriting initial public offerings and a pickup in mergers and acquisitions.

— John Towfighi, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026
To that end, Gershin added more backgrounds and foley, adding detail and supervising a pass in Dolby Atmos, all along being careful not to betray the intentions of the original work.

— Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of supervising

Verb

Unlike traditional sports betting, prediction markets function more like exchanges, with participants taking positions against one another rather than against a house.

— Aneri Jambusaria, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
During a recent town hall at the Ivy League school, one student raised the question of a Greek life ban, asking student organizers if taking that step might improve the culture on campus.

— Brittany Shammas, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of taking

Verb

Positioning the commercial arm of the 100-year-old BBC for a streaming future while managing the traditional linear channels that still do great business in many international territories.

— Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
Years later, there’s still work to be done managing a film’s intellectual property rights and corporate vehicles.

— Kim Jackson, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of managing

Browse Nearby Words

micromanages

micromanaging

microminiature

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Micromanaging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/micromanaging. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of micromanaging

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

fervid

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes