commanding Hear it!

commanding Definition

com·mand·ing (kə man′diŋ, -män′-)

transitive verb, intransitive verb

command

adjective

  1. having authority; controlling or dominating
  2. impressive, esp. in a dignified or imperial way
  3. controlling or dominating by position a commanding hilltop
  4. very large a commanding lead

commanding Synonyms

commanding

modif.

  1. Imposing

    authoritative, dominant, dictatorial, imperious; see absolute 3, autocratic 1, masterful, powerful 1.

  2. In command

    in charge, at the helm, at the head, chief; see administrative, governing, managing, powerful 1.

commanding Synonyms

commanding

n.

leading, directing, controlling, steering, guiding, determining, ordering, charging, ruling, enjoining, decreeing, instructing, dictating, forbidding, issuing, dominating, overruling, compelling, managing, checking, curbing, forcing, coercing, requiring, restraining, having dominion over, being in command, being in authority, regulating; see also command 2, government 1.

Antonyms obeying, yielding*, submitting.

commanding Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • eminence: Alport Hill is a commanding eminence, said to be the highest point in South Derbyshire.
  • officer: In practice, a commanding officer may or may not have seen these orders.
  • presence: Henry Eliot was a commanding presence on the stage.
  • height: The commanding heights of the economy would be publicly owned.
  • position: England are in a commanding position going into day three of the second Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford.
  • view: A second floor room gave a commanding view over most of the site.

Modifying Another Word

  • very: Her broad sword is held high and she looks very commanding.
  • so: The organ solos were just great loud, moody and so commanding.
  • yet: His voice has a special sound; tender in romantic passages yet commanding when it has to be.
  • quite: Again, had there never been an original movie, Schreiber would probably appear quite commanding.
  • truly: Eriq La Salle plays Peter Benton, a truly commanding and ambitious surgeon who seems to only care about himself and his work.
  • increasingly: The figures came over like giants: Owen Teale was an increasingly commanding Macbeth, Vivien Parry, an impassioned Lady Macbeth.

Used with adjective complement

look: Her broad sword is held high and she looks very commanding.