Meaning & use
self-regulate
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Meanings
verbintransitivetechnical
To control your own behavior, emotions, or actions without being told by others.
Grammar: Used without an object: children learn to self-regulate. It is not used as 'self-regulate something' in this sense.
Patterns
- learn to self-regulate
- ability to self-regulate
- help someone self-regulate
Young children gradually learn to self-regulate their emotions.
Mindfulness exercises can help adults self-regulate when they feel stressed.
Students who can self-regulate are better at managing their time.
verbintransitivebusinesstechnical
Of an industry or organization, to set and follow its own rules without government control.
Grammar: Used without an object, often with 'industry' as the subject: the industry self-regulates.
Patterns
- the industry self-regulates
- agree to self-regulate
- be allowed to self-regulate
The advertising industry agreed to self-regulate rather than face new laws.
Critics argue that banks cannot be trusted to self-regulate.
The government allowed the press to self-regulate for many years.
verbintransitivebiologytechnical
Of a living thing or system, to adjust itself automatically to stay stable.
Grammar: Used without an object, especially in biology and engineering: the body self-regulates temperature.
Patterns
- the body self-regulates
- a system that self-regulates
The human body can self-regulate its temperature within a narrow range.
Ecosystems often self-regulate through feedback loops.
The thermostat is designed to self-regulate without human input.
Word forms
| third person singular | self-regulates |
|---|---|
| past tense | self-regulated |
| past participle | self-regulated |
| -ing form | self-regulating |
Common combinations
- learn to self-regulate
- Babies slowly learn to self-regulate their sleep patterns.
- ability to self-regulate
- Her ability to self-regulate under pressure impressed the coach.
- self-regulate emotions
- Therapy can teach people how to self-regulate emotions.
- industry self-regulates
- The industry self-regulates through a voluntary code of conduct.
- self-regulating system
- The body is a self-regulating system that maintains balance.
Synonyms and how they differ
- control oneself
- This is the everyday phrase; self-regulate is more technical and often used in psychology.
- monitor oneself
- Monitor oneself focuses on watching your behavior; self-regulate focuses on adjusting it.
Opposites
Word family
- self-regulation noun
- The ability or process of controlling your own behavior or rules.
- self-regulatory adjective
- Describing a system or organization that controls itself.
- regulate verb
- To control or adjust something, often by rules.
Commonly confused: self-regulate or self-control?
self-regulate vs self-control
Self-control is the noun for the ability to control yourself; self-regulate is the verb for the act of doing it.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'self-regulate' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Self-regulate is intransitive in this sense: 'learn to self-regulate their emotions' means the children control their own emotions. The other options wrongly use it with an object or with 'to'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “self-regulate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.