Govern
['gʌv(ə)n] or ['ɡʌvɚn]
Definition
(verb.) direct or strongly influence the behavior of; 'His belief in God governs his conduct'.
(verb.) exercise authority over; as of nations; 'Who is governing the country now?'.
(verb.) require to be in a certain grammatical case, voice, or mood; 'most transitive verbs govern the accusative case in German'.
Edited by Joanne--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To direct and control, as the actions or conduct of men, either by established laws or by arbitrary will; to regulate by authority.
(v. t.) To regulate; to influence; to direct; to restrain; to manage; as, to govern the life; to govern a horse.
(v. t.) To require to be in a particular case; as, a transitive verb governs a noun in the objective case; or to require (a particular case); as, a transitive verb governs the objective case.
(v. i.) To exercise authority; to administer the laws; to have the control.
Inputed by Diego
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Conduct, manage, supervise, regulate, have the direction of, have the charge of.[2]. Direct, guide, steer.[3]. Control, restrain, curb, bridle, rule, sway, command.
v. n. Rule, have control, exercise authority, hold the reins, bear sway, have the charge.
Typed by Lena
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Rule, direct, control, moderate, guide, sway, supervise, manage, command,conduct
ANT:Misrule, misdirect, miscontrol
Checked by Justin
Definition
v.t. to direct: to control: to rule with authority: (gram.) to determine the mood tense or case of.—v.i. to exercise authority: to administer the laws.—adj. Gov′ernable.—ns. Gov′ernall (Spens.) government; Gov′ernance government: control: direction: behaviour; Governante (guv-ėr-nant′ or guv′-) a governess (obs.); Gov′erness a lady who has charge of the instruction of young ladies: a tutoress (Daily-governess one who goes every day to her pupils' house; Nursery- having charge of young children only tending as well as teaching them; Resident- living in the family of her pupils).—v.i. to act as governess.—n. Gov′erness-cart a light two-wheeled vehicle with two face-to-face seats at the sides only.—adj. Gov′erning having control.—n. Gov′ernment a ruling or managing: control: system of governing: the body of persons authorised to administer the laws or to govern a state: the territory over which sovereign power extends: (gram.) the power of one word in determining the form of another: (Shak.) conduct.—adj. of or pursued by government.—adj. Government′al pertaining to or sanctioned by government.—ns. Gov′ernor a ruler: one invested with supreme authority: a tutor: (slang) a father or master: (mach.) a regulator or contrivance for maintaining uniform velocity with a varying resistance: (B.) a pilot; Gov′ernor-gen′eral the supreme governor in a country: a viceroy; Gov′ernorship.—Governmental theory (see Grotian).
Inputed by Hodge
Examples
- The instrument may be made before the laws which govern its operation are discovered. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Louis, she said, would never have learned to rule if she had not ceased to govern. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- An easy people to govern, in the Parliament and in the Kitchen--that's the moral of it. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- When a wife's relations interpose against a husband who is a gentleman, who is proud, and who must govern, the consequences are inimical to peace. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- Don't act yourself, if you do not like it, but don't expect to govern everybody else. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- To govern a life insurance company, Mr. Steffens argued, was just as much government as to run a city. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- A few Socialists were in office set to govern a city with no Socialist hinterland. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Governing his curiosity better than I had governed mine, he passed us without a word, and went on into the house. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- Beginning with the State, I replied, would you say that a city which is governed by a tyrant is free or enslaved? Plato. The Republic.
- This was in the old days when the Patricians alone governed Venice--the common herd had no vote and no voice. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Let us apply the first element in this criterion to a despotically governed state. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- A virtuous and laborious people may be cheaply governed. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- Community of study and amusement developed the best parts of his character, his steady perseverance, generosity, and well-governed firmness. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Yes, but hang it,' says Wegg argumentatively, 'a well-governed mind can be soured sitting! Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Governing his curiosity better than I had governed mine, he passed us without a word, and went on into the house. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- Cuba is now an independent self-governing republic. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The scene marks the complete demoralization of the old Roman governing body. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Dentist's chairs have been developed until it is only necessary for the operator to turn a valve governing a fluid, generally oil, under pressure to raise or lower the chair and the patient. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- An autocracy would no doubt have been admissible as a fully self-governing democracy with a franchise limited to one person. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- It may be the governing of a city, or teaching school, or running a business. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- India figured--presumably as a fully self-governing state! H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Them that governs mun find a way to help us; they mun make fresh orderations. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- It is perfectly true that that government is best which governs least. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- They held that stri ct law governs the apparently erratic movements of the heavenly bodies. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Behold how hideously he governs! Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I have lived, sir, a long time: and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, _That_ GOD _governs in the affairs of men_! Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- You have never worked for hunger, or you would know what god governs us. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- The same law governs the construction of the mouths and limbs of crustaceans. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
Checked by Gerald