controlled
Americanadjective
-
held in check; curbed.
poorly controlled anger.
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carefully regulated, tested, or verified.
a controlled experiment.
-
(of a drug) restricted by law as to possession and use.
Morphine is a controlled drug.
Etymology
Origin of controlled
First recorded in 1580–90; control ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. )
Explanation
Something that's controlled is kept in check or restrained. Your controlled laughter in math class won't get you in trouble, because it's muted and calm. Some people really blow their stacks when they get angry, while others express a controlled anger, calmly explaining their frustration. The ability to keep your emotions controlled is a useful one. A different meaning of controlled is "restricted by law," — many medications and drugs are classified as "controlled substances. The root of both controlled and control is the Latin contrarotulus, "a register, counter, or record of something."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In effect, it allows heat to be programmed in a way that resembles how data is stored and controlled inside a computer chip.
From Science Daily • Jul. 7, 2026
“My relationship with Tom has already controlled the past two years of my life,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 7, 2026
"She has done a great job of getting more consistent, she is fitter than I've ever seen her and she is so committed to being controlled out there."
From BBC • Jul. 5, 2026
In Portugal, emergency services said they had controlled "80 percent" of a wildfire that has devastated some 13,000 hectares of forest and scrub land in the north of the country.
From Barron's • Jul. 5, 2026
In 1957, Pardee, Monod, and Jacob discovered that the lactose operon was controlled by a single master switch—a protein eventually called the repressor.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
