governance

noun

gov·​er·​nance ˈgə-vər-nən(t)s 

plural governances

: the act or process of governing or overseeing the control and direction of something (such as a country or an organization) : government

a centralized system of governance

the challenges of national governance

… the governance of amateur sport in America …

—P. S. Wood

… three years before he died, [Lionel] Trilling pressed the point that the way a nation thinks determines in the end the quality of its governance.

—Benjamin DeMott

Enron, and the corporate disasters that followed, forced many companies to get serious about governance.

—Louis Lavelle

Theirs was the perennial problem of quick-witted subjects under the governance of dull-witted administrators.

—Declan Kiberd

Michael Dukakis, at the 1988 Democratic convention, said governance was about competence, not ideology. He got it half right: Competence is important to governance, but ideology is critical …

—U.S. News & World Report

Synonyms

• administration
• authority
• government
• jurisdiction
• regime
• régime
• regimen
• rule

Examples of governance in a Sentence

They have very different approaches to the governance of the city.

after World War II, the four Allied nations shared the governance of the territory of postwar Germany under the Allied Control Council

Recent Examples on the Web

But Tomas Hedman, Embracer’s head of privacy and AI governance, says the company doesn’t want to use AI in place of humans. —Jay Peters, The Verge, 20 June 2024

Hogan should back a specific type of filibuster reform that would advance the core themes of his campaign, like promoting responsible, effective governance and respectful, productive dialogue. —Thomas Koenig, Baltimore Sun, 20 June 2024

Fury is committed to upholding the highest industry standards for corporate governance, environmental stewardship, community engagement and sustainable mining. —Sacramento Bee, 19 June 2024

Some large investors have pressured Toyota on its slow embrace of EVs and governance questions in the wake of safety scandals. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 18 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

see govern

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing governance

• self-governance

Kids Definition

governance

noun

gov·​er·​nance ˈgəv-ər-nən(t)s 

: the exercise of control : government