Meaning & use
controlling
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparabledisapproving
Trying to make other people do what you want and not letting them make their own choices.
Grammar: Describes people and behavior: a controlling boss; more controlling than before.
Patterns
- controlling of someone
- a controlling person
Her controlling father checked her phone every night.
He became more controlling after the wedding.
A controlling manager can drain a team's energy.
adjectivebefore a nounbusinessformal
Having the power or authority to direct a company, process or system.
Grammar: Used in business: a controlling interest.
Patterns
- controlling interest
- controlling stake
The investor bought a controlling stake in the club.
She holds the controlling interest in the firm.
The controlling shareholder chose the new board.
verbtransitive
Present participle of control: directing, limiting or managing something.
Grammar: Used in continuous tenses with an object: controlling costs.
Patterns
- controlling something
She is controlling the robot with a small handset.
The city is controlling traffic with new signals.
He spent months controlling his temper.
Word forms
| base form | control |
|---|---|
| past tense | controlled |
Common combinations
- controlling behavior
- Controlling behavior can damage trust in a relationship.
- controlling parent
- A controlling parent decided every detail of his day.
- controlling interest
- The family has a controlling interest in the business.
- overly controlling
- She felt her boss was overly controlling.
- controlling partner
- A controlling partner may check your messages.
Synonyms and how they differ
- domineering
- Domineering is stronger and suggests bossing people around openly and loudly.
- overbearing
- Overbearing stresses forcing your opinions on others in an unpleasantly confident way.
- possessive
- Possessive focuses on wanting someone to belong to you, often in relationships.
- bossy
- Bossy is informal, milder and often used about children or trivial matters.
Opposites
Word family
- control verb
- to direct or restrain
- control noun
- power to direct or manage
- controller noun
- a person or device that manages something
- controlled adjective
- managed or restrained
- uncontrolled adjective
- not managed or restrained
Commonly confused: controlling or controllable?
controlling vs controllable
Controllable means able to be managed, while controlling describes someone who tries to manage others.
Practice
Dana left the relationship because her partner was so ___ and demanded to know where she was at all times.
Choose one answer.
Controlling describes someone who tries to dominate another person. Controlled would describe the person being managed, so it does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “controlling”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.