governing

noun · adjective

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

guhverning

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US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɡʌvɚnɪŋ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

The act of governing; exercising authority
“Regulations for the governing of state prisons.”

adjective

Responsible for making and enforcing rules and laws

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency: Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

More ways to use governing

“Regulations for the governing of state prisons.”noun

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

governing bodygoverning boardlaw governinggoverning classgoverning councilconditions governinggoverning partygoverning equations

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

governverbBase word
Bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

governornounPerson or profession
The head of a state government.
governmentnounDerived noun · specialist
The organization that is the governing authority of a political unit.
governancenounDerived noun · specialist
The persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

governing boardnounCompound term
A board that manages the affairs of an institution.
governing bodynounCompound term
The persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

government activitynounRelated term
The act of governing.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

noun

Sense: governing

governance

adjective

Sense: responsible for making and enforcing rules and laws

dominant

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.