Synonyms

govern

American

[guhv-ern] / ˈgʌv ərn /

verb (used with object)

to rule over by right of authority.

to govern a nation.

Synonyms:

reign

Antonyms:

obey
to exercise a directing or restraining influence over; guide.

the motives governing a decision.

Synonyms:

superintend, supervise, conduct, influence, sway, control
to hold in check; control.

to govern one's temper.
to serve as or constitute a law for.

the principles governing a case.
Grammar. to be regularly accompanied by or require the use of (a particular form). In They helped us, the verb helped governs the objective case of the pronoun we.
to regulate the speed of (an engine) with a governor.

verb (used without object)

to exercise the function of government.
to have predominating influence.

govern British

/ ˈɡʌvən /

verb

(also intr) to direct and control the actions, affairs, policies, functions, etc, of (a political unit, organization, nation, etc); rule
to exercise restraint over; regulate or direct

to govern one's temper
to be a predominant influence on (something); decide or determine (something)

his injury governed his decision to avoid sports
to control the speed of (an engine, machine, etc) using a governor
to control the rate of flow of (a fluid) by using an automatic valve
(of a word) to determine the inflection of (another word)

Latin nouns govern adjectives that modify them

"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

Usage

What does govern mean? Govern means to rule over something with authority, as in In a democracy, people elect those who will govern them. Govern can also mean to hold something in check, like your temper. And govern can mean to act as a guiding force, as when your stomach governs your food choices. Govern, meaning to rule over something, is almost always used to refer to government or politics, as in The president did his best to govern the country during the war. Presidents and prime ministers are examples of people who govern countries or nations. A person who governs something might be called a governor but is just as likely to be referred to by an official title. Govern can also mean to control or curb something, as in The waiter wanted to shout at the rude customer but he managed to govern his anger. Govern is also used to mean to restrain influence over something by acting as a guide, as in The lawyer always let his strong sense of justice govern his actions. Example: Most voters were undecided who would be better at governing the country.

Synonym Usage

See rule.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of govern

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French gouverner, from Latin gubernāre “to steer (a ship),” from Greek kybernân “to steer”; cf. cybernetics ( def. )

Explanation

To govern is to rule, lead, oversee, or otherwise control. Each U.S. state has its own governor, whose job it is to govern the affairs of that state. While it's true that governors govern — that is, they head the executive branch of their state government — there are lots of other ways to use the verb govern. Almost anything that controls or has a lot of influence over something else can be said to govern. The rules of tennis, for example, govern the way that game is played. In mechanics, a device that controls other devices is called a governor. My dog's basic needs govern the way my household is run: his schedule is our schedule.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing govern

"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act IV

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

Persepolis

Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!

100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"

Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!

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.

See Examples For:

govern governs governed governing

It is not yet clear if that would be enough to take power in the state but the AfD says it has won a mandate to govern.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

With votes still being counted, it was unclear whether the anti-immigration party would be able to win an absolute majority to govern.

From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026

Mr. Rebeiro’s painstaking analysis pays off here: Liberty could govern interpretation only when the text plausibly bears the proposed meaning.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

The order could govern federal usage; it could not compel Canada or the rest of the world to play along.

From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026

The laws of science that govern the behavior of matter under all normal situations are unchanged under the combination of the two operations C and P on their own.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking

The treaty governs the use of water from six rivers, whose headwaters originate in India but flow into Pakistan as part of the Indus basin -- a resource relied on by hundreds of millions.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

Uefa, which governs European football, had already made its opposition clear by releasing two damning statements - and that strength of feeling has been reaffirmed.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

“What they have done is lower the standard for everything,” said Ali Khawar, a former senior official at the Department of Labor, which is charged with enforcing the federal law that governs retirement savings.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

Consumer Watchdog contended in its lawsuit that the surcharges violated Proposition 103 — the 1988 measure that governs insurer rate hikes — because the proposition does not allow for them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

For example: Here’s an explanation of the rhetorical term syllepsis: “the use of a word that relates to, qualifies, or governs two or more other words but has a different meaning in relation to each.”

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

A Supreme Court decision to force prediction markets to be governed by the same rules as sportsbooks would restrict 18- to 20-year-olds from betting on sports in most states.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

The 57-year-old, known as JOH, governed from 2014 to 2022 and had been accused of embezzling $2 million in public funds to finance his 2013 presidential campaign.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

“Because cicada surges are not well-studied in dense tropical urban settings, no single agency had an off-the-shelf solution,” said Choo, a member of the People’s Action Party that has governed Singapore since 1959.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

The facilities would be governed by the new 2026 detention standards and include terms that mirror those from the Northwest facility’s contract, that stricter state or local laws “shall not apply.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

These water monsters governed the torrents of this water world and kept the waves tranquil.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

As nonprofit governing bodies, they reinvest heavily in the sport and their facilities, reducing the amount potentially available to players.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Humanity, after all, has created rules governing other potentially world-ending technologies.

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

After entering into a Uefa settlement, following a breach of the European football governing body's financial rules, Hopkinson stressed Newcastle needed to be compliant with the game's regulations to do so.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

The system that branded him at 19 is, in his telling, the same one governing China today.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

Several members of Cal Tech’s governing board, however, would have been delighted with his voluntary departure.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023