dominate

[dom-uh-neyt]

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verb (used with object), dom·i·nat·ed, dom·i·nat·ing.

to rule over; govern; control.

to tower above; overlook; overshadow: A tall pine dominated the landscape.

to predominate, permeate, or characterize.

Mathematics. (of a series, vector, etc.) to have terms or components greater in absolute value than the corresponding terms or components of a given series, vector, etc.

Linguistics. (of a node in a tree diagram) to be connected with (a subordinate node) either directly by a single downward branch or indirectly by a sequence of downward branches.

verb (used without object), dom·i·nat·ed, dom·i·nat·ing.

to rule; exercise control; predominate.

to occupy a commanding or elevated position.

Origin of dominate

1605–15; < Latin dominātus (past participle of dominārī to master, control), equivalent to domin- (stem of dominus) master + -ātus -ate¹

Related formsdom·i·nat·ing·ly, adverbdom·i·na·tor, nounnon·dom·i·nat·ing, adjectiveo·ver·dom·i·nate, verb (used with object), o·ver·dom·i·nat·ed, o·ver·dom·i·nat·ing.re·dom·i·nate, verb, re·dom·i·nat·ed, re·dom·i·nat·ing.un·dom·i·nat·ed, adjectivewell-dom·i·nat·ed, adjective

Can be confuseddominant dominate domineer (see synonym study at dominant)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for dominator

disciplinarian, administrator, supervisor, executive, employer, director, chief, owner, chieftain, leader, superintendent, commander, manager, officer, tyrant, overseer, boss, foreperson, wheel, head

Examples from the Web for dominator

Historical Examples of dominator

My creature, viz., a particular expression of will, would have become my dominator.
Anarchism
Paul Eltzbacher
Until he was beaten he was dominator, arbiter, and despot, if he chose to be.
The Grizzly King
James Oliver Curwood
He was tender and he was happy, but he was, after all, the dominator.
The Precipice
Elia Wilkinson Peattie
Had he not been the very monk he was, he would not have been the dominator of men and situations that he proved himself to be.
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume I of II)
Henry Osborn Taylor
Verse is no dominator over the poet, except inasmuch as the bond is reciprocal, and the poet dominates over the verse.
English Critical Essays
Various

British Dictionary definitions for dominator

dominate

verb

to control, rule, or govern (someone or something)

to tower above (surroundings, etc); overlook

(tr; usually passive) to predominate in (something or someone)

Derived Formsdominating, adjectivedominatingly, adverbdominative, adjectivedominator, noun

Word Origin for dominate

C17: from Latin dominārī to be lord over, from dominus lord

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dominator

dominate

1610s, from Latin dominatus, past participle of dominari "to rule, dominate, to govern," from dominus (see domain). Related: Dominated; dominating. Or perhaps a back-formation from domination.