1
as in domineering
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in regulating
to keep from exceeding a desirable degree or level (as of expression)
you must learn to control your temper
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in containing
to gain emotional or mental control of
he controlled himself only with the greatest difficulty in the face of his opponent's insulting remarks
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3
as in governing
to exercise authority or power over
circumstances often control the choices we make in life
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4
as in managing
to look after and make decisions about
during the period that she controlled the company it was highly profitable
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of controlling
Chris Deubert, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Small controlling actions can become bigger controlling actions.
—Thomas Westerholm, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 11 Feb. 2026
The royal government was also known as a dictatorship for banning political parties, suppressing revolts and political opposition, controlling the press and having its own secret police force called SAVAK.
—Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for controlling
Adjective
In recent years, all of the major North American sports leagues have changed their ownership rules to permit specialist private equity funds to buy non-controlling stakes in their clubs under strict rules.
—Chris Deubert, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Small controlling actions can become bigger controlling actions.
—Thomas Westerholm, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
Verb
Investors in this study include everything from giant companies controlling thousands of houses to folks with a small collection of rentals to short-term rental operators to people with a second home.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 11 Feb. 2026
The royal government was also known as a dictatorship for banning political parties, suppressing revolts and political opposition, controlling the press and having its own secret police force called SAVAK.
—Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for controlling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for controlling
Adjective
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Even though Kenneth was the one to shoot Sheridan, both the jury and the judge accepted the prosecution's argument that Ronald was the domineering brother and had planned and directed the killing.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
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In the movie, set in medieval England, Anne (Turner) and her domineering mother-in-law, Morwen (Gay Harden), struggle to survive on the outskirts of society.—
Jessica Radloff,
Glamour,
1 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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You’re supposed to win when that happens … except that the two Dodgers starters, Shohei Ohtani and Blake Snell, were equally dominating.—
Jayson Stark,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Trump was expected to have a much more hands-off approach to regulating business combinations.—
Jeff Marks,Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
10 Feb. 2026
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Environmental groups and concerned countries see regulating ship fuel as the only way to realistically reduce black carbon.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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At the same time, a salty liquid containing calcium chloride (a salt often used to de-ice roads) is pumped through the regenerator, which carries the heat away and ejects it to the surroundings on exit.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
5 Feb. 2026
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The National Institutes of Health reports that oregano oil repels bedbugs more effectively than commercial insecticides containing DEET.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The governing party of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a two-thirds supermajority in a key parliamentary election Sunday, Japanese media reported citing preliminary results, earning a landslide victory thanks to her popularity.—
MARI YAMAGUCHI,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
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But soon after that, the International Skating Union (ISU), skating’s worldwide governing body, made the decision to ban backflips from competition due in large part to the high risk of head and neck injuries.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The 30-year-old star, born Austin Richard Post, was born in New York but moved to Grapevine at 9 years old after Malone’s father, Rich Post, took a job managing concessions for the Dallas Cowboys.—
Tiffani Jackson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Feb. 2026
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He's considered a great in-game coach, who creates advantages in the margins, like on substitution patterns and managing the clock.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In this war lawyers invariably are depicted as soulless and grasping ambulance-chasers unconcerned about their clients’ welfare, and businesses as, well, soulless, grasping and unconcerned about their customers.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Jan. 2026
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The grasping big toe also suggested this human relative spent more time in the trees.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Affleck excels here in a tremendously off-putting role (seemingly the one he was born to play), but the film's most cogent, exciting moments come when Lonergan splits off to show us the town's bizarre side characters.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Jan. 2026
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Among the dozens of books that have attempted to identify the forces that U.S. President Donald Trump rode to power, this is one of the most closely reported and cogent.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
30 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Controlling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/controlling. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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