govern

verb

1. 1

   direct or strongly influence the behavior of

   His belief in God governs his conduct

2. 2

   bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage; impose regulations

   We cannot regulate the way people dress

   This town likes to regulate

3. 3

   exercise authority over; as of nations

   Who is governing the country now?

4. 4

   require to be in a certain grammatical case, voice, or mood

   most transitive verbs govern the accusative case in German