reg·u·late

[reg-yuh-leyt]
verb (used with object), reg·u·lat·ed, reg·u·lat·ing.
1.
to control or direct by a rule, principle, method, etc.: to regulate household expenses.
2.
to adjust to some standard or requirement, as amount, degree, etc.: to regulate the temperature.
3.
to adjust so as to ensure accuracy of operation: to regulate a watch.
4.
to put in good order: to regulate the digestion.

Origin:
1620–30; < Late Latin rēgulātus (past participle of rēgulāre). See regula, -ate1

reg·u·la·tive [reg-yuh-ley-tiv, -yuh-luh-tiv] , reg·u·la·to·ry [reg-yuh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] , adjective
reg·u·la·tive·ly, adverb
an·ti·reg·u·la·to·ry, adjective
mis·reg·u·late, verb (used with object), mis·reg·u·lat·ed, mis·reg·u·lat·ing.
non·reg·u·lat·ed, adjective
non·reg·u·la·tive, adjective
non·reg·u·la·to·ry, adjective
o·ver·reg·u·late, verb, o·ver·reg·u·lat·ed, o·ver·reg·u·lat·ing.
pre·reg·u·late, verb (used with object), pre·reg·u·lat·ed, pre·reg·u·lat·ing.
qua·si-reg·u·lat·ed, adjective
re·reg·u·late, verb (used with object), re·reg·u·lat·ed, re·reg·u·lat·ing.
un·reg·u·lat·ed, adjective
un·reg·u·la·tive, adjective
un·reg·u·la·to·ry, adjective
well-reg·u·lat·ed, adjective


1. rule, govern, manage, order, adjust, arrange, dispose, conduct. 2. set. 4. systematize.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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00:10
Regulated is always a great word to know.
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a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
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World English Dictionary
regulate (ˈrɛɡjʊˌleɪt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  to adjust (the amount of heat, sound, etc, of something) as required; control
2.  to adjust (an instrument or appliance) so that it operates correctly
3.  to bring into conformity with a rule, principle, or usage
 
[C17: from Late Latin rēgulāre to control, from Latin rēgula a ruler]
 
'regulative
 
adj
 
'regulatory
 
adj
 
'regulatively
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

regulate
c.1630, from L.L. regulatus, pp. of regulare "to control by rule, direct" (5c.), from L. regula "rule" (see regular). Regulation is first recorded 1672, "act of regulating;" sense of "rule for management" is first attested 1715. Regulator is first recorded 1655; in Eng.
history, with a capital R-, "member of a commission appointed in 1687 to manage county elections." In U.S. history, applied to local posses that kept order (or disturbed it) in rural regions c.1767-71. Meaning "clock by which other timepieces are set" is attested from 1758.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

regulate reg·u·late (rěg'yə-lāt')
v. reg·u·lat·ed, reg·u·lat·ing, reg·u·lates

  1. To control or direct according to rule, principle, or law.

  2. To adjust to a particular specification or requirement.

  3. To adjust a mechanism for accurate and proper functioning.

  4. To put or maintain in order.


reg'u·la'tive or reg'u·la·to'ry (-lə-tôr'ē) adj.
reg'u·la'tor n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
The financial system that will emerge from the current crisis will probably be
  smaller and more regulated.
Free market advocates claim that the less a market is regulated, the more it
  can flourish.
Journalism cannot be regulated as medicine or law can: anybody must be free to
  report, comment and criticise.
Whatever the answer, these questions can never be fully regulated by authority,
  whether the state or the parent.
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