WordWeb Online

1. Bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage; impose regulations
   - regulate, regularize, regularise [Brit], order
    
2. Direct or strongly influence the behaviour of
   "His belief in God governs his conduct"
    
3. Exercise authority over; as of nations
   "Who is governing the country now?"
   - rule
    
4. Require to be in a certain grammatical case, voice, or mood
   "most transitive verbs govern the accusative case in German"

Derived forms: governs, governed, governing

See also: government, governor

Type of: ask, call for, command, control, decide, demand, determine, involve, make up one's mind, necessitate, need, postulate, require, take