2. supervise, superintend, oversee, preside over, direct, manage, conduct, have
or be in charge of; take the lead, lead, hold in hand, hold or keep in line, keep under control; discipline, maintain order, regulate, regiment; rule the roost, wear the crown, occupy the throne, have the whip hand; wield the scepter, wield the power or authority, sway, bend to one's will.
3. subdue, overpower, domineer, master, gain the upper hand, get the better of; browbeat, intimidate, bully, ride roughshod over, ride herd on; oppress, repress, suppress, rule with a high hand, rule with an iron hand, rule with a rod of iron, tyrannize; keep down or under, lord it over, break, humble, crush; subjugate, subject, subordinate, enthrall, enslave, reduce to slavery, hold captive, hold in bondage.
4. restrain, check, keep in check, curb, hold or keep back, contain, arrest; harness, bridle, rein in, hold in, leash; restrict, fetter, shackle; confine, limit, cramp, constrain; hold in, bottle up, cork up, box up, shut up, seal; block, clog, obstruct, stop; impede, inhibit, hinder, interfere, hamper, encumber, deter, dissuade; detain, keep in, hold, stay; prohibit, forbid, disallow, interdict, prevent, suppress; preclude, obviate, nip in the bud, Inf. put the kibosh on.
-n. 5. rule, command, dictate, dictation, order; regulation, regulating, maintaining order, disciplining, discipline; regimentation, direction, directing, leading, lead, jurisdiction, charge; bossing, supervising, supervision, superintending, superintendence, overseeing, oversight, presiding over; conduct, conducting, calling the shots, calling the plays, managing, management.
6. domination, power, authority, influence, sway, ascendancy, reign; overpoweringness, overwhelmingness, mastery, the whip or upper hand; domineeringness, browbeating, intimidating, intimidation; bullying, riding roughshod over, riding herd on; oppression, repression, suppression, ruling with a high or iron hand, ruling with a rod of iron; tyranny, U.S. (usu. of politics) bossism, dictatorship, despotism, sovereignty, supremacy; subjugation, subjection, subordination; enthrallment, enslavement, slavery, captivity, bondage.
7. check, restraint, curb; constraint, cramp, limitation, restriction, ceiling; seal, block, clog, stopper, damper, brake, drag; inhibition, dissuasion, determent; leading string, leash, chain, rein, tether; yoke, halter, harness, bridle, collar, bit, snaffle, muzzle, gag; prevention, confinement, bar, bolt, lock, padlock, fetter, shackle; prohibition, forbiddance, embargo, disallowance, interdict, interdiction.
8. checker, controller, regulator; director, boss, foreman, manager, supervisor, overseer; restrainer, holder of the purse strings, treasurer.
9. controls instruments, devices, dials, knobs, buttons, handles, levers; switches, Elect, toggle switches, wheels, Mach. gears; panel, instrument panel, board, keyboard, dashboard. controversial, adj. 1. polemical, dialectic; dichoto-mous, factious, contradictory, discursive, litigious; eristic, pilpulistic.
2. debatable, disputable, argumentable, controvertible; moot, doubtful, questionable, open to discussion; disputed, unsettled, contended, at issue, under question, suspicious.
controversy, n. 1. dispute, disagreement, altercation, war of words, contestation, verbal feud, difference of opinion, heated exchange, logomachy; debate, discussion, polemics, argumentation, disputation, pil-pul; fine point, question at hand, moot point, debatable question; tug of war, hassle, political football, Inf. hot potato.
2. contention, strife, argument, quarrel, set-to, wrangle, squabble, spat, tiff, velitation, bicker, broil; row, brawl, rumpus, imbroglio.
controvert, v. 1. dispute, altercate, wrangle, cross verbal swords; deny, gainsay, disaffirm, impugn; oppose, differ, traverse; argue against, challenge, contradict, protest, refute, rebut, counter.