govern

Universal Words verb 1 to legally control a country or its people and be responsible for introducing new laws, organizing public services, etc: [VN] The country is governed by elected representatives of the people. * [V] He accused the opposition party of being unfit to govern. 2 [VN] [oftenpassive] to control or influence sb/sth or how sth happens, functions, etc: Prices are very much governed by market demand. * All his decisions have been entirely governed by self-interest. * We need changes in the law governing school attendance. 3 [VN] (grammar) if a word governs another word or phrase, it affects how that word or phrase is formed or used