conduct 1 of 2

verb

kən-ˈdəkt How to pronounce conduct (audio)
Definition of conductnext
1
as in to supervise
to look after and make decisions about the company's president continues to conduct the everyday affairs of the software firm he founded many years ago

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in to direct
to cause to move to a central point or along a restricted pathway the gutter conducts water to the curb, thus protecting the house's basement

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to behave
to manage the actions of (oneself) in a particular way conducted themselves at the party like perfect ladies and gentlemen

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to steer
to point out the way for (someone) especially from a position in front a job conducting tourists through the historical museum

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in to transmit
to cause (something) to pass from one to another a material that conducts heat quite efficiently

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

conduct

2 of 2

noun

ˈkän-(ˌ)dəkt How to pronounce conduct (audio)
1
as in management
the act or activity of looking after and making decisions about something the President was happy to leave the conduct of foreign affairs to his secretary of state

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in behavior
the way or manner in which one conducts oneself a child who has often been scolded for poor conduct

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word conduct distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of conduct are control, direct, and manage. While all these words mean "to use one's powers to lead, guide, or dominate," conduct implies taking responsibility for the acts and achievements of a group.

conducted negotiations

In what contexts can control take the place of conduct?

The meanings of control and conduct largely overlap; however, control implies a regulating or restraining in order to keep within bounds or on a course.

controlling his appetite

When might direct be a better fit than conduct?

While in some cases nearly identical to conduct, direct implies constant guiding and regulating so as to achieve smooth operation.

directs the store's day-to-day business

When can manage be used instead of conduct?

The words manage and conduct can be used in similar contexts, but manage implies direct handling and manipulating or maneuvering toward a desired result.

manages a meat market

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 conduct
Verb
In the past several years, Hubble has conducted two surveys of Andromeda. — Rahul Rao, Space.com, 10 Aug. 2026 After receiving an initial instruction through Telegram, the AI-powered agent could identify targets, conduct reconnaissance, select exploits and attempt compromises with remarkably little additional human involvement. — Emil Sayegh, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Noun
Officers responded Saturday to the Barnes & Noble at the Palladio after receiving reports of a man engaging in lewd conduct inside the store, Folsom police said. — Madisen Keavy, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026 Such fleets could patrol submarine cable routes, conduct searches, stage ambushes, and coordinate with underwater sensors, surface vessels, and aerial drones to support future maritime military operations. — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for conduct
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conduct
  1. supervise
  2. direct
  3. behave
  4. steer
  5. transmit
  6. management
  7. behavior
  8. oversee
Verb
  • Nick Martin, a DOT supervising engineer and project manager for the bridge rehab, answered that the choices aren’t that simple.
    — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Becoming a therapist requires years of education, supervised practice, licensing examinations and often substantial student debt.
    — Wayne Lonstein, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of supervise
Verb
  • Importantly, these policies should be informed by injury data so that resources are directed toward the neighborhoods, populations and circumstances where injuries are occurring most frequently.
    — Narmeen Khan, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Residents filled the council meeting, with the overflow attendees directed to other areas of the building after officials said the room had reached its fire marshal capacity.
    — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of direct
Verb
  • Driscoll and others involved in the mission worried that something far less dramatic could derail it, such as an accidental weapon discharge, an isolated confrontation with a protester or a guardsman caught on camera behaving poorly.
    — Steven Beynon, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • This is a mass disabling event, concentrated in working-age people and skewed female, behaving exactly as post-viral illness always has.
    — Keely Cat-Wells, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of behave
Verb
  • Zhu steered China’s economic policy for more than a decade since the early 1990s, first as a vice premier and then the premier under late leader Jiang Zemin, who died in late 2022.
    — CNN Staff, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The onshore breeze will steer storms to the west later on Tuesday.
    — Lissette Gonzalez, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of steer
Verb
  • Hoodoo was transmitted orally in these early centuries and was never homogeneous.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Once transmitted back to Earth, scientists will use Bayesian statistical methods alongside sky-response computer simulations to remove Galactic foreground emissions and instrument distortions.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of transmit
Noun
  • Political scientist Sandra Borda argued that the difficulties in aid management are related to the tense political transition between the current and previous administrations, which lacked a formal handover.
    — Gonzalo Zegarra, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Conventional time-management advice, Schore argues, focuses almost exclusively on visible behaviors—meetings, email volume, scheduling techniques and collaboration practices.
    — Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of management
Noun
  • The findings provide fresh insight into how closely human behavior influences the Earth’s subtle seismic signals, while also helping to dispel the long-standing myth that eclipses can trigger earthquakes.
    — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The corresponding non-chiral electrodes did not show the same behavior.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of behavior
Verb
  • Hines, 66, appealed unsuccessfully to the governor and the courts, saying that the doctor who oversaw the May execution was unqualified and likely to botch his execution as well.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The new owners took over the keys to a tired and decaying club in the spring and have since overseen a summer renovation that has stretched from assembling a new first-team squad to restoring hot water to Hillsborough.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of oversee

Browse Nearby Words

conducive
conduct
conducted
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Cite this Entry

“Conduct.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conduct. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on conduct

Nglish: Translation of conduct for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about conduct

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