govern in WordNet English dictionary

1. exercise authority over; as of nations
   "Who is governing the country now?"
   govern  rule 
   
2. direct or strongly influence the behavior of
   "His belief in God governs his conduct"
   govern 
   
3. bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage; impose regulations
   "We cannot regulate the way people dress"; "This town likes to regulate"
   regulate  regularize  regularise  order  govern 
   
4. require to be in a certain grammatical case, voice, or mood
   "most transitive verbs govern the accusative case in German"
   govern