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regulate

verb

Simple meaning

To control or direct according to rule, principle.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

rehgyuhlayt

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɹɛɡjəleɪt

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.

verb

  1. To control or direct according to rule, principle, or law.

  2. To put or maintain in order.

  3. To adjust (a mechanism) for accurate and proper functioning.

  4. To dictate policy.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To control or direct according to rule, principle, or law.

Used this way, regulate is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a legal use: the wording is institutional and carries a defined meaning in law rather than a loose everyday one.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Specialist/technical
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Specialized
Connotation
Clinical and technical
Usage feel
Technical and specialized

Where it naturally appears

  • Law/legal
  • Government/politics
  • Academic writing
  • Ethics/values

Usage note

In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use regulate

  • “We cannot regulate the way people dress.”verb
  • “Regulate the temperature.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

regulate commerceregulate tradehelps regulate

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • regulatedadjectiveInflected form

    Controlled or governed according to rule or principle or law.

  • regulatingnounInflected form

    The act of controlling or directing according to rule.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • regulatornounPerson or profession · specialist

    Any of various controls or devices for regulating or controlling fluid flow, pressure, temperature, etc.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • regulatory agencynounRelated term

    A governmental agency that regulates businesses in the public interest.

  • regulatory authoritynounRelated term

    A governmental agency that regulates businesses in the public interest.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to control or direct according to rule or principle

govern

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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.