To exercise authority or influence over

• rule

  1. Governing power or its possession or use; authority.
  2. The duration of such power.
  3. An authoritative, prescribed direction for conduct, especially one of the regulations governing procedure in a legislative body or a regulation observed by the players in a game, sport, or contest.

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• govern

  1. To make and administer the public policy and affairs of (a state, for example); exercise sovereign authority over.
  2. To control the speed or magnitude of; regulate:
  3. To control the actions or behavior of:

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• dominate

  1. To control, govern, or rule by superior authority or power:
  2. To exert a supreme, guiding influence on or over:
  3. To enjoy a commanding, controlling position in:

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• direct

  1. To manage or regulate the business or affairs of; be in charge of:
  2. To supervise or oversee (an activity or process):
  3. To give guidance and instruction to (actors or musicians, for example) in the rehearsal and performance of a work.

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To bring one's emotions under control

• simmer down

  1. (intransitive, idiomatic) To decrease in intensity of anger, agitation, or excitement.

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• cool

  1. Neither warm nor very cold; moderately cold:
  2. Giving or suggesting relief from heat:
  3. Marked by calm self-control:

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• contain

  1. To have within; hold:
  2. To be capable of holding:
  3. To have as a component or constituent part; include:

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• compose

  1. To make up the constituent parts of; constitute or form:
  2. To make or create by putting together parts or elements.
  3. To create or produce (a literary or musical piece).

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• collect

  1. To bring together in a group or mass; gather:
  2. To accumulate as a hobby or for study:
  3. To call for and obtain payment of:

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To keep the mechanical operation of (a device) within proper parameters

• regulate

  1. To control or direct according to rule, principle, or law.
  2. To adjust to a particular specification or requirement:
  3. To adjust (a mechanism) for accurate and proper functioning.

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• govern

  1. To make and administer the public policy and affairs of (a state, for example); exercise sovereign authority over.
  2. To control the speed or magnitude of; regulate:
  3. To control the actions or behavior of:

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The right and power to command, decide, rule, or judge

• say-so

  1. An unsupported statement or assurance:
  2. An expression of permission or approval:
  3. The right or authority to decide:

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• sway

  1. To swing back and forth or to and fro.
  2. To incline or bend to one side; veer:
  3. To incline toward change, as in opinion or feeling:

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• sovereignty

  1. Supremacy of authority or rule as exercised by a sovereign or sovereign state.
  2. Royal rank, authority, or power.
  3. Complete independence and self-government.

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• prerogative

  1. An exclusive right or privilege held by a person or group, especially a hereditary or official right.
  2. The exclusive right and power to command, decide, rule, or judge:
  3. Of, arising from, or exercising a prerogative.

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• power

  1. The ability or capacity to act or do something effectively:
  2. A specific capacity, faculty, or aptitude:
  3. Physical strength or force exerted or capable of being exerted:

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• might

  1. Great power or force, as of a nation or army.
  2. Physical strength:

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• mastery

  1. Possession of consummate skill.
  2. The status of master or ruler; control:
  3. Full command of a subject of study:

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• jurisdiction

  1. The right of a court to hear a particular case, based on the scope of its authority over the type of case and the parties to the case.
  2. Authority or control:
  3. The extent of authority or control:

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• dominion

  1. Control or the exercise of control; sovereignty:
  2. A territory or sphere of influence or control; a realm.
  3. A self-governing nation under the nominal rule of the British monarch.

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• domination

  1. Control or power over another or others.
  2. The exercise of such control or power.
  3. The fourth of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology.

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• command

  1. To direct with authority; give orders to.
  2. To have control or authority over; rule:
  3. To have at one's disposal:

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• authority

  1. The power to enforce laws, exact obedience, command, determine, or judge.
  2. One that is invested with this power, especially a government or body of government officials:
  3. Power assigned to another; authorization:

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The act of exercising controlling power or the condition of being so controlled

• sway

  1. To swing back and forth or to and fro.
  2. To incline or bend to one side; veer:
  3. To incline toward change, as in opinion or feeling:

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• rule

  1. Governing power or its possession or use; authority.
  2. The duration of such power.
  3. An authoritative, prescribed direction for conduct, especially one of the regulations governing procedure in a legislative body or a regulation observed by the players in a game, sport, or contest.

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• reign

  1. Exercise of sovereign power, as by a monarch.
  2. The period during which a monarch rules.
  3. Dominance or widespread influence:

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• mastery

  1. Possession of consummate skill.
  2. The status of master or ruler; control:
  3. Full command of a subject of study:

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• dominion

  1. Control or the exercise of control; sovereignty:
  2. A territory or sphere of influence or control; a realm.
  3. A self-governing nation under the nominal rule of the British monarch.

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• domination

  1. Control or power over another or others.
  2. The exercise of such control or power.
  3. The fourth of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology.

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• dominance

  1. The condition or fact of being dominant.

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• command

  1. To direct with authority; give orders to.
  2. To have control or authority over; rule:
  3. To have at one's disposal:

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The continuous exercise of authority over a political unit

• rule

  1. Governing power or its possession or use; authority.
  2. The duration of such power.
  3. An authoritative, prescribed direction for conduct, especially one of the regulations governing procedure in a legislative body or a regulation observed by the players in a game, sport, or contest.

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• government

  1. The act or process of governing, especially the control and administration of public policy in a political unit.
  2. The office, function, or authority of a governing individual or body.
  3. Exercise of authority in a political unit; rule.

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• governance

  1. The action, manner, or power of governing:

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• direction

  1. The management, supervision, or guidance of a group or operation:
  2. The art or action of directing a musical or theatrical production.
  3. An authoritative order or command:

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• administration

  1. The act or process of administering, especially the management of a government or large institution.
  2. The activity of a government or state in the exercise of its powers and duties.
  3. The executive branch of a government.

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The keeping of one's thoughts and emotions to oneself

• uncommunicativeness

  1. The quality of being uncommunicative.

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• taciturnity

  1. The trait of being taciturn.

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• self-restraint

  1. Restraint of one's emotions, desires, or inclinations; self-control.

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• self-control

  1. Control of one's emotions, desires, or actions by one's own will:

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• reticence

  1. the quality or state, or an instance, of being reticent; reserve

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• restraint

  1. The act of restraining:
  2. The condition of being restrained, especially the condition of losing one's freedom:
  3. An influence that inhibits or restrains:

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• reserve

  1. To keep back, as for future use or for a special purpose:
  2. To set or cause to be set apart for a particular person or use:
  3. To keep or secure for oneself; retain:

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The power to direct

• charge

  1. To impose a duty, responsibility, or obligation on:
  2. To instruct or urge authoritatively; command:
  3. To instruct (a jury) about the law, its application, and the weighing of evidence.

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• direction

  1. The management, supervision, or guidance of a group or operation:
  2. The art or action of directing a musical or theatrical production.
  3. An authoritative order or command:

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• authority

  1. The power to enforce laws, exact obedience, command, determine, or judge.
  2. One that is invested with this power, especially a government or body of government officials:
  3. Power assigned to another; authorization:

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• command

  1. To direct with authority; give orders to.
  2. To have control or authority over; rule:
  3. To have at one's disposal:

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Restraint

• restriction

  1. The action of restricting or the state of being restricted:
  2. Something that restricts; a regulation or limitation:

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• limitation

  1. The act of limiting or the state of being limited:
  2. A limiting rule or condition; a restriction:
  3. A shortcoming or defect:

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• curb

  1. A concrete border or row of joined stones forming part of a gutter along the edge of a street.
  2. An enclosing framework, such as that around a skylight.
  3. A raised margin along an edge used to confine or strengthen.

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• check

  1. A piece of paper that is a negotiable instrument drawn on a bank and payable on demand to the person identified as the payee. A piece of paper that is a negotiable instrument drawn on a bank and payable on demand to the person identified as the payee.

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A device that regulates or controls; often plural

• remote control

  1. The control of an activity, process, or machine from a distance, as by radioed instructions or coded signals.
  2. A device used to control an apparatus or machine from a distance.

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• keyboard

  1. A panel of buttons used for typing and performing other functions on a computer or typewriter.
  2. A row of levers that are depressed with the fingers to produce or modulate the sound of an instrument, such as a piano or organ.
  3. Any of various instruments, played by means of a musical keyboard, often connected to a synthesizer or amplifier.

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• dashboard

  1. A panel under the windshield of a vehicle, containing indicator dials, compartments, and sometimes control instruments.
  2. A user interface on a computer display that presents constantly updated information, such as processing speed, in a format that resembles the dashboard of a vehicle.

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• instrument-panel

  1. A mounted array of instruments used to operate a machine, especially the dashboard of an automotive vehicle, aircraft, or motorboat.

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• governor

  1. The chief executive of a state in the United States.
  2. An official appointed to govern a colony or territory.
  3. A member of a governing body.

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• controller

  1. One that controls:
  2. An officer who audits accounts and supervises the financial affairs of a corporation or of a governmental body.
  3. A regulating mechanism, as in a vehicle or electric device.

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• regulator

  1. The mechanism in a watch by which its speed is governed.
  2. A highly accurate clock used as a standard for timing other clocks.
  3. A device used to maintain uniform speed in a machine; a governor.

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• toggle switch

  1. A switch that uses a toggle joint with a spring to open or close an electric circuit as an attached lever is pushed through a small arc.

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• handle

  1. To touch, lift, or hold with the hands:
  2. To operate with the hands; manipulate:
  3. To deal with or have responsibility for; conduct:

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• lever

  1. A simple machine consisting of a rigid bar pivoted on a fixed point and used to transmit force, as in raising or moving a weight at one end by pushing down on the other.
  2. A projecting handle used to adjust or operate a mechanism.
  3. A means of accomplishing; a tool:

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• key

  1. A notched and grooved, usually metal implement that is turned to open or close a lock.
  2. A similar implement or an electronic device used for opening, winding, or starting something:
  3. A device, such as a wedge or pin, inserted to lock together mechanical or structural parts.

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• button

  1. A generally disk-shaped fastener used to join two parts of a garment by fitting through a buttonhole or loop.
  2. Such an object used for decoration.
  3. A push-button switch.

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• knob

  1. A rounded protuberance.
  2. A rounded handle, as on a drawer or door.
  3. A rounded control switch or dial.

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• dial

  1. A graduated surface or face on which a measurement, such as speed, is indicated by a moving needle or pointer.
  2. The face of a clock.
  3. A sundial.

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• switch

  1. An exchange or a swap, especially one done secretly.
  2. A transference or shift, as of opinion or attention.
  3. A device used to break or open an electric circuit or to divert current from one conductor to another.

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• control-mechanism

  1. Any mechanical (other) system used to keep one or more variable parameters constant, or within specified bounds.

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• instrument

  1. A tool or implement used to do or facilitate work, especially a small precision tool used by a professional:
  2. A device for recording, measuring, or controlling, especially such a device functioning as part of a control system.
  3. A device for playing or producing music:

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To hold in check

• repress

  1. To hold back or prevent by an act of volition:
  2. To put down or subdue by force:
  3. To end, limit, or restrain, as by intimidation or other action:

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• master

  1. The owner or keeper of an animal:
  2. The owner of a slave.
  3. One who has control over or ownership of something:

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• constrain

  1. To keep within certain limits; confine or limit:
  2. To inhibit or restrain; hold back:
  3. To compel by physical, moral, or circumstantial force; oblige:

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To direct

• dominate

  1. To control, govern, or rule by superior authority or power:
  2. To exert a supreme, guiding influence on or over:
  3. To enjoy a commanding, controlling position in:

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• guide

  1. One who shows the way by leading, directing, or advising.
  2. One who serves as a model for others, as in a course of conduct.
  3. A person employed to conduct others, as through a museum, and give information about points of interest encountered.

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• regulate

  1. To control or direct according to rule, principle, or law.
  2. To adjust to a particular specification or requirement:
  3. To adjust (a mechanism) for accurate and proper functioning.

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• manage

  1. To have charge of; direct or administer:
  2. To exert control over; regulate or limit toward a desired end:
  3. To direct or supervise (employees or other staff):

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To verify

• experiment

  1. A test under controlled conditions that is made to demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy of something previously untried.
  2. The process of conducting such a test; experimentation.
  3. An innovative act or procedure:

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• test

  1. A procedure for critical evaluation; a means of determining the presence, quality, or truth of something; a trial:
  2. A series of questions, problems, or physical responses designed to determine knowledge, intelligence, or ability.
  3. A basis for evaluation or judgment:

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• establish

  1. To cause (an institution, for example) to come into existence or begin operating; found; set up.
  2. To bring about; generate or effect:
  3. To place or settle in a secure position or condition:

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