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
If anything, the war has given more power to the hardline military factions inside the complex system of Iranian governance, as well as bolstered anti-American sentiments.
—Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026
The News’ editorial board and product team built questionnaires for races across the region, asking candidates to spell out positions on taxes, public safety, education, development and other issues tied to local governance.
—From Staff Reports, Dallas Morning News, 3 Apr. 2026
Trump called the roundtable to examine solutions to key challenges, including NCAA authority, NIL issues, collective bargaining, and governance concerns.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 3 Apr. 2026
Anthropic, which has staked its reputation on AI safety, offers an early case study in how behavioral data collection can outpace governance.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for governance
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Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026
The News’ editorial board and product team built questionnaires for races across the region, asking candidates to spell out positions on taxes, public safety, education, development and other issues tied to local governance.
—From Staff Reports, Dallas Morning News, 3 Apr. 2026
Trump called the roundtable to examine solutions to key challenges, including NCAA authority, NIL issues, collective bargaining, and governance concerns.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 3 Apr. 2026
Anthropic, which has staked its reputation on AI safety, offers an early case study in how behavioral data collection can outpace governance.
—Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 2 Apr. 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 6 Apr. 2026.
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governance
noun
gov·er·nance
ˈgəv-ər-nən(t)s
: the exercise of control : government
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