refereeing

verb

present participle of referee
as in deciding
to give an opinion about (something at issue or in dispute) their father usually ends up refereeing any disputes concerning use of the big TV

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 refereeing This is a side that spent the whole tournament being accused of grappling, time-wasting, and refereeing luck, and then produced a final where its first shot on goal arrived in the 115th minute. — Shann Biglione, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026 Beyond on-pitch disputes over refereeing calls, life and politics have spilt into the tournament like never before. — Jessica Hopkins, New York Times, 17 July 2026 Social media has been flooded with posts from users in Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador and Peru questioning refereeing decisions or expressing disapproval of Argentina, while messages mocking rival teams also proliferated from Argentine accounts. — Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026 Kenneth George Aston, who headed FIFA’s refereeing committee, took inspiration from traffic lights and, in 1967, introduced the yellow and red cards that are still used today. — ABC News, 11 July 2026 Late goals, refereeing controversy, stunning upsets and two box office penalty shootouts – yesterday was everything the World Cup will always be about. — Ben Church, CNN Money, 30 June 2026 Chosen from all six confederations and across 50 FIFA member associations, the 170-strong refereeing contingent – featuring six women – is the largest roster of officials in tournament history. — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 8 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refereeing
  1. deciding
  2. settling
  3. determining
  4. judging
  5. adjudicating
  6. umpiring
  7. arbitrating
Verb
  • The very title is real-world shorthand for technology's role in deciding who lives and who dies — and how the military should respond to any truly autonomous attacks.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 July 2026
  • Before deciding whether to return, consider these seven factors to assess what has changed, what the company is offering and whether returning supports your long-term career goals.
    — Caroline Castrillon, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
Definition of deciding
Verb
  • Oyster was checked by a specialist vet who deemed her as healthy and has since been settling into a sanctuary with specialist facilities for primates.
    — Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 21 July 2026
  • If big-city energy appeals, with days spent wandering between markets and museums before settling into a top table for dinner, then the Western Cape—home to Cape Town—might be the best choice.
    — Katie Silcox, Vogue, 21 July 2026
Definition of settling
Verb
  • In automotive supply chains, resilience is ultimately built at the point of execution where disruption stops being theoretical and starts determining whether vehicles roll off the line or sit unfinished on the factory floor.
    — Anand Gupta, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • Adversaries can jam or spoof satellite navigation signals, potentially preventing drones from accurately determining their positions.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 21 July 2026
Definition of determining
Verb
  • Privacy concerns are real, and this isn't about judging general browsing habits.
    — Artem Lalaiants, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • That result suggests researchers could use the system to screen robot attempts at scale without manually judging every run.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of judging
Verb
  • But the speech gave him a fresh outrage through which to revisit an old defeat, accuse his own government of betrayal and force the press to spend the evening adjudicating his claims.
    — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 17 July 2026
  • The final overriding decision was therefore not simply a process of adjudicating biological facts, but a judgment about what classification might do.
    — Max Moser, STAT, 9 July 2026
Definition of adjudicating
Verb
  • Ogilvie has also squeezed in umpiring the last three years.
    — Steve Brand, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2026
  • And the next day, umpiring behind the plate, Bucknor took a foul ball flush in the mask in the second inning and had to come out of the game.
    — Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 4 Apr. 2026
Definition of umpiring
Verb
  • Plaintiffs attorneys, legislators and patients say Kaiser’s private and confidential process for arbitrating legal disputes over medical care still has key flaws that favor Kaiser over patients bringing malpractice cases.
    — Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026
  • Meanwhile, the leaders reported that the core business of the guild — paying residuals, arbitrating credit disputes, and so on — continues, though the guild’s offices, theater and library remain closed.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 28 Apr. 2026
Definition of arbitrating

Browse Nearby Words

refereed
refereeing
referees
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Cite this Entry

“Refereeing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refereeing. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on refereeing

Nglish: Translation of refereeing for Spanish Speakers

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