controlled
Americanadjective
-
held in check; curbed.
poorly controlled anger.
-
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.
The Ghanaian found space down the right flank and fired a shot that Angus Gunn easily controlled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
In interviews, she has been unsparing about what she sees as coming next in American media consolidation, warning that a CNN controlled by David Ellison — who purchased Paramount and CBS — would be “tragic.”
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
OpenAI said customer data would stay on infrastructure controlled by the customer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Maternal age effects may be controlled by epigenetic processes that change how genes are used rather than by mutations that alter the underlying DNA sequence.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
But this was very different from the idea of a human body being operated by some kind of guiding spirit which controlled its activities from minute to minute.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
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.
