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 26-year-old said that his parents have been controlling narratives in the press about his family and tried to "ruin" his relationship with his wife Nicola Peltz Beckham.

From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026

Kurdish forces have been controlling swathes of Syria's oil-rich north and north-east, much of it gained during the civil war and the fight against the Islamic State group over the past decade.

From BBC • Jan. 17, 2026

Humans have been controlling their reproduction for all of recorded history, from ancient Egyptian vaginal suppositories made of animal dung to spermicidal ointments made with cedar and olive oil employed by 4th Century Greeks.

From Salon • Dec. 27, 2023

I still feel deeply hurt that he refused to support me or even acknowledge the wrong that had been done, although I acknowledge that asking him to cut contact might have been controlling.

From Washington Post • May 4, 2022

It was as if one had diverted some terrific electric current which should have been controlling a vast system of machinery, and turned it on to annihilate a black-beetle.

From Psmith in the City by Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville)