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govern

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.06 sec.
gov·ern  (gvrn)
v. gov·erned, gov·ern·ing, gov·erns
v.tr.
1. To make and administer the public policy and affairs of; exercise sovereign authority in.
2. To control the speed or magnitude of; regulate: a valve that governs fuel intake.
3. To control the actions or behavior of: Govern yourselves like civilized people.
4. To keep under control; restrain: a student who could not govern his impulses.
5. To exercise a deciding or determining influence on: Chance usually governs the outcome of the game.
6. Grammar To require (a specific morphological form) of accompanying words.
v.intr.
1. To exercise political authority.
2. To have or exercise a determining influence.

[Middle English governen, from Old French governer, from Latin gubernre, from Greek kubernn.]

govern·a·ble adj.

govern
Verb
1. to direct and control the policy and affairs of (a country or an organization)
2. to control or determine: the international organizations governing athletics and rugby [Latin gubernare to steer]
governable adj
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Verb1.govern - bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage; impose regulations; "We cannot regulate the way people dress"; "This town likes to regulate"
standardize, standardise - cause to conform to standard or norm; "The weights and measures were standardized"
decide, make up one's mind, determine - reach, make, or come to a decision about something; "We finally decided after lengthy deliberations"
district, zone - regulate housing in; of certain areas of towns
2.govern - direct or strongly influence the behavior of; "His belief in God governs his conduct"
control, command - exercise authoritative control or power over; "control the budget"; "Command the military forces"
3.govern - exercise authority over; as of nations; "Who is governing the country now?"
control, command - exercise authoritative control or power over; "control the budget"; "Command the military forces"
throne - sit on the throne as a ruler
misgovern - govern badly
dictate - rule as a dictator
reign - have sovereign power; "Henry VIII reigned for a long time"
4.govern - require to be in a certain grammatical case, voice, or mood; "most transitive verbs govern the accusative case in German"
necessitate, need, require, call for, demand, postulate, involve, ask, take - require as useful, just, or proper; "It takes nerve to do what she did"; "success usually requires hard work"; "This job asks a lot of patience and skill"; "This position demands a lot of personal sacrifice"; "This dinner calls for a spectacular dessert"; "This intervention does not postulate a patient's consent"

govern
verb 1. rule, lead, control, command, manage, direct, guide, handle, conduct, order, reign over, administer, oversee, supervise, be in power over, call the shots, call the tune, hold sway over, superintend
verb 3. restrain, control, check, contain, master, discipline, regulate, curb, inhibit, tame, subdue, get the better of, bridle, hold in check, keep a tight rein on
Translations
govern [ˈgʌvən] vt (gen) → gobernar [+ event, conduct]; regir

govern [ˈgʌvən] vt (gen) (Ling) → gouverner (= influence); déterminer

govern [ˈgʌvən] vt (also Ling) → regieren;
(event, conduct) → bestimmen

govern [ˈgʌvən] vtgovernare;
(LING) → reggere

govern
v govern [ˈgavən]
1 to rule The queen governed (the country) wisely and well. regeer يَحْكُم управлявам vládnout regere; styre regieren κυβερνώ gobernar valitsema حکومت کردن hallita gouverner לִמשׁוֹל शासन करना voditi, upravljati kormányoz memerintah stjórna governare 治める 다스리다 valdyti []valdīt; vadīt memerintah regeren styre, regjere, herske rządzić governar a gu­ver­na править vládnuť vladati vladati styra, regera [] ปกครอง yönetmek, idare etmek 統治 керувати, правити حکومت کرنا cai trị
2 to influence Our policy is governed by three factors. bestuur يُأثِّر تأثيرا شديدا насочвам ovládat bestemme; betinget bestimmen διέπω, επηρεάζω regir juhtima تحت تاثیر قرار دادن؛ اعمال کردن ohjata régir לְהַשפִּיע प्रभाव डालना utjecati na irányít mempengaruhi ákvarða(st), stjórnast, hafa áhrif á reggere, guidare 影響する 좌우하다 sąlygoti noteikt; ietekmēt mempengaruhi leiden, beheersen, bepalen påvirke, være bestemt av determinować reger a influenţa обуславливать ovládať vplivati uticati styra, reglera ควบคุม yönlendirmek, yönetmek 影響 регулювати متاثر کرنا chi phối


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For which reason the poets say, it is proper for the Greeks to govern the barbarians, as if a barbarian and a slave were by nature one.
We'll see whether boys are to govern men, or men are to govern boys.
He came to the King and asked his daughter's hand, which he readily granted him, but only on the condition that he should remain there as long as he could, for the King himself was not strong and not very able to govern his kingdom.
 
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