controlling 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of controllingnext
1
as in domineering

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2
as in dominating

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Dissimilar Words

controlling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of control
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

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 controlling
Adjective
Instead of The Expanse’s sprawling epic of humanity’s journey to the stars, The Captive’s War sees humans brought under the thumb of a ruthlessly controlling alien empire and struggling to resist, build lives and maybe even find a way to win. — Sarah Lewin Frasier, Scientific American, 10 Apr. 2026 In girl friend groups, one of the girls is a bit more controlling, a bit more sassy, and a bit more precocious than the other ones. — Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 8 Apr. 2026
Verb
Existing strategies for managing dog allergies focus primarily on controlling the body's immune response rather than reducing allergen production at its source, according to the company's August study. — Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026 Enterprises can no longer assume that purchasing access to AI is equivalent to controlling its cost. — Bryan Murphy, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for controlling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for controlling
  1. domineering
  2. dominating
  3. regulating
  4. containing
  5. governing
  6. managing
  7. grasping
  8. cogent
Adjective
  • Will stars in the film as Phil Weston, an unremarkable family man who grew up under the thumb of his domineering dad, Buck (Robert Duvall).
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026
  • That’s a little too farcical for the moment, and the final cut lands more in a place of domineering intrigue.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 13 July 2026
Definition of domineering
Adjective
  • 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
Definition of dominating
Verb
  • Which makes regulating surveillance pricing now all the more important.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Maine has passed a new AI law regulating artificial intelligence as a mental health advisor, similar to other state legislations.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of regulating
Verb
  • This was some 50 pallets containing more than 150,000 pieces of athletic gear – 6,500 pairs of shoes alone – all of which had to be sorted by team and distributed across campus in less than a month.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Three months earlier, he’d been accused of violating parole for a burglary conviction, after allegedly using his car to ram a vehicle containing his girlfriend and her 5-year-old child.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of containing
Verb
  • The governing Labour Party and opposition Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Greens all declined to run in Clacton.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Calls for independent review Monday’s open letter is just the latest shot fired at the beleaguered governing body.
    — Ben Church, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of governing
Verb
  • The Raiders are managing a knee ailment that caused McCoy to drop to the fourth round in April’s NFL Draft.
    — Sam Warren, New York Times, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Katsis was adept at managing major live acts, overseeing rollouts like Backstreet Boys’ Into the Millennium Tour and helping morph Korn and Limp Bizkit into perennial arena acts.
    — Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of managing
Adjective
  • My hope is tenuous, grasping; scar tissue from 108 years of futility is never fully salved.
    — Stephen J. Nesbitt, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2026
  • 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
Definition of grasping
Adjective
  • Davis’ ability to reflect and respond with his pithy probing of the disagreeing chord turned chaos into something cogent.
    — Steven D. Reske, Chicago Tribune, 24 May 2026
  • DeMaio has built his own particularly cogent political organization in San Diego Republican circles, according to previous reporting by CalMatters.
    — Andrew Graham May 15, Sacbee.com, 16 May 2026
Definition of cogent

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controllers
controlling
controls
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Cite this Entry

“Controlling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/controlling. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on controlling

Nglish: Translation of controlling for Spanish Speakers

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