regulatory

Sometimes reg·u·la·tive

[reg-yuh-luh-tawr-ee]

adjective

1. of or relating to the control or direction of an activity by a set of rules, laws, etc..

   The Coast Guard is to be commended for this current regulatory effort, as their proposed restriction addresses many concerns of the seafaring community.

2. of or relating to the adjustment of a device, system, or organic function so as to meet a standard or the requirements of good operation.

   Earth's climate is a highly complex system with its own regulatory mechanisms.

Other Word Forms

• antiregulatory adjective
• nonregulatory adjective
• unregulatory adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of regulatory¹

regulat(e) ( def. ) + -ory ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Roberts has also pushed the Constitution to the right and handed conservatives wins on abortion, guns, the environment, voting rights and the regulatory state that scarcely could have been imagined 20 years ago.

Read more on Salon

Medicare insurers have seen their profits squeezed by higher-than-expected medical spending and regulatory changes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Mr Coleman said the regulatory system was set up in 1966, "when the world of veterinary services was very different to the world that we have today."

Read more on BBC

“It is a critical theme inside of the bank regulatory framework,” Mariner said.

Read more on MarketWatch

This finding, in the Obama years, would come to justify regulatory actions that have zero impact—none—on climate change.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• administrative 
• managerial