governance
noun
gov·er·nance
ˈgə-vər-nən(t)s 
plural governances
: the act or process of governing or overseeing the control and direction of something (such as a country or an organization) : government
a centralized system of governance
the challenges of national governance
… the governance of amateur sport in America …—
P. S. Wood
P. S. Wood… three years before he died, [Lionel] Trilling pressed the point that the way a nation thinks determines in the end the quality of its governance.—Benjamin DeMott
Benjamin DeMottEnron, and the corporate disasters that followed, forced many companies to get serious about governance.—Louis Lavelle
Louis LavelleTheirs was the perennial problem of quick-witted subjects under the governance of dull-witted administrators.—Declan Kiberd
Declan KiberdMichael Dukakis, at the 1988 Democratic convention, said governance was about competence, not ideology. He got it half right: Competence is important to governance, but ideology is critical …—U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World ReportSynonyms of governance
Examples of governance in a Sentence
They have very different approaches to the governance of the city.
after World War II, the four Allied nations shared the governance of the territory of postwar Germany under the Allied Control Council
Recent Examples on the Web
There has been no progress on the second phase of the ceasefire, which was supposed to be about disarmament and governance and the reconstruction process.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 19 May 2026
The company has also been investing in safety and governance; for example, organizations can limit who is allowed to use sensitive integrations, and the product flags integrations that look personal, such as private email, and encourages users to keep them private by default.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 19 May 2026
Now a major nation has shown that the same model belongs not just to local communities, but to state and national governance.
—Katharine Silbaugh, STAT, 19 May 2026
At that point, climate strategy becomes less about innovation alone and more about governance, credibility and what people are willing to count as credit.
—Caitlin Grady, The Conversation, 19 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for governance
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Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 19 May 2026
The company has also been investing in safety and governance; for example, organizations can limit who is allowed to use sensitive integrations, and the product flags integrations that look personal, such as private email, and encourages users to keep them private by default.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 19 May 2026
Now a major nation has shown that the same model belongs not just to local communities, but to state and national governance.
—Katharine Silbaugh, STAT, 19 May 2026
At that point, climate strategy becomes less about innovation alone and more about governance, credibility and what people are willing to count as credit.
—Caitlin Grady, The Conversation, 19 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for governance
Cite this Entry
“Governance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/governance. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
governance
noun
gov·er·nance
ˈgəv-ər-nən(t)s
: the exercise of control : government
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