controlling

controlling — adjective

1. (of a share, stake, or interest in a company) big enough to let the owner decide

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

(of a share, stake, or interest in a company) big enough to let the owner decide how the company is run.

Example

Karim's family owns a controlling interest in the country's biggest tea company.

controlling interest (fixed business term)

After buying more shares, Renata holds a controlling stake in the small fashion brand.

controlling stake (collocation)

Common collocations
  • controlling interest
  • controlling stake
  • controlling share
  • controlling shareholder
Synonyms
  • majority

    majority stake = more than 50%; controlling stake can sometimes be less if shares are spread

  • dominant

    broader; can describe a position in a market, not just a shareholding

Antonyms
  • minority

    minority stake = not enough to decide policy

Grammar Patterns

controlling + stake/interest/share/stockholder

Usage Note

Strictly attributive in this sense, almost always paired with a small set of business nouns: 'interest', 'stake', 'share', 'shareholder'. The threshold is usually more than 50%, but in practice can be smaller if no one else owns much. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is about ownership of a company, not about how someone treats people.

Common Mistakes

She has controlling shares in his decisions.
She has controlling shares in his company.
'controlling share' refers to ownership of a business, not to influence over personal choices.

2. always trying to decide what other people do, with little regard for their wishe

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

always trying to decide what other people do, with little regard for their wishes or freedom.

Example

Élise left her controlling boyfriend after he checked her phone messages every single night.

controlling boyfriend (relationship: negative)

Reema's mother is so controlling that she still picks her daughter's clothes.

controlling parent (family: negative)

Common collocations
  • controlling parent
  • controlling partner
  • controlling boyfriend
  • controlling mother
  • controlling boss
Synonyms
  • domineering

    stronger and more formal; suggests open bossiness

  • overbearing

    stresses pushing one's will onto others, often loudly

  • possessive

    more about wanting to keep someone close than telling them what to do

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

a controlling + person/parent/partner

be controlling

Usage Note

Strongly negative — never used as a compliment. Subject is usually a person in a close relationship: parent, partner, boss, friend. Distinguish from 'controlled' (sense 2 of that word): 'controlling' = wants to control others; 'controlled' = manages own emotions well.

Common Mistakes

My boss is very controlled and tells everyone what to do.
My boss is very controlling and tells everyone what to do.
to describe someone who tries to direct others, use 'controlling', not 'controlled'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/2

All four words criticise someone who pushes their will onto others, but they highlight different flavours. 'Controlling' is the everyday word, focused on someone wanting to decide what other people do — what their partner wears, what their child studies, how their team works. 'Domineering' is stronger and more formal; it pictures someone who openly takes charge and makes others feel small ('a domineering father'). 'Overbearing' adds a sense of being too forceful or too loud, leaving no room for disagreement ('an overbearing boss who interrupts everyone'). 'Possessive' is narrower and emotional: it is mostly used in romantic relationships and means wanting to keep the other person all to yourself, jealous of their other friendships rather than telling them what to do.

controlling ↗domineeringoverbearingpossessive ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • very controlling
  • too controlling
  • extremely controlling
  • increasingly controlling

Phrases

  • a controlling personality
  • a controlling relationship

Prepositions

  • controlling of
  • controlling over
  • controlling about

Etymology

Medieval LatinAnglo-FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

Present participle of the verb 'control', used as an adjective from the 1500s onward. The business sense ('controlling interest') developed in the 1800s with the growth of joint-stock companies, while the personal-relationship sense ('a controlling parent') is mostly twentieth-century, popularised by self-help and psychology writing from the 1970s on.