supervision

noun

ˌsü-pər-ˈvi-zhən How to pronounce supervision (audio)
Definition of supervisionnext
1
as in oversight
the duty or function of watching or guarding for the sake of proper direction or control one of your responsibilities will be the supervision of all fund-raising activities for the club

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in management
the act or activity of looking after and making decisions about something one of the senior editors took over supervision of the project while the editor-in-chief was on maternity leave

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of supervision Local district attorneys generally decide whether to prosecute, subject to the state attorney general’s supervision. — Stefani Langehennig, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026 Cervelo was released with an ankle monitor and will remain under immigration supervision until further notice. — Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026 One of the bills, introduced by Stefani, expands the ability of certified nurse-midwives to provide care for pregnant and postpartum patients by specifying that supervision by a physician is not required when providing certain services. — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026 The forward-looking read is that fasting will earn a legitimate but narrow place in cardiometabolic care, under supervision, with bloodwork, for the right patients. — Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for supervision
Recent Examples of Synonyms for supervision
  1. oversight
  2. management
  3. stewardship
  4. control
  5. guidance
  6. operation
  7. superintendence
  8. administration
Noun
  • The merger means that the NCAA March Madness college basketball championship will be under a single company’s oversight for the first time in years.
    — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Audit committee members naming AI governance a priority jumped to 35% in Deloitte and the Center for Audit Quality’s 2025 survey, up from 20% the year before, and the share of committees taking primary AI oversight rose from 14% to 20%.
    — Eshaan Jain, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of oversight
Noun
  • While some financial advisors have asset minimums, others may charge one-time, hourly or monthly fees rather than a percentage for assets under management.
    — Kate Dore, CFP®, EA,Kelli Grant, CFP®, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
  • That’s because bank stocks are particularly difficult to forecast, given that their performance depends heavily on macro factors rather than information that management might have about the company.
    — Morgan Chittum, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of management
Noun
  • More form than function, police work’s stewardship of capitalism exists largely in the tactical imagination.
    — Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Rage is not a worthwhile substitute for smart, prescient and responsible stewardship of an absolutely necessary ingredient of modern life.
    — Rick Nicita, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of stewardship
Noun
  • Heading into the midterm elections, AI now ranks as a key issue in races that will help decide control of both chambers of Congress.
    — Jeff Masonand Michael Shepard Bloomberg, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Precise attitude control keeps those instruments pointed at their targets as the satellites race around Earth.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of control
Noun
  • The company positions it more as at-home diagnostic technology than brushing guidance.
    — Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Participants who got the reports alone saw no improvement in their insomnia scores, but those who also got monthly phone guidance on sleep habits and daytime activity did, at least over the first three months.
    — J. David Creswell, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of guidance
Noun
  • In Kremenchuk, in the Poltava region, two people were killed and seven injured, said Vitalii Diakivnych, head of the regional military administration, and a rescue operation was continuing.
    — SAMYA KULLAB, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Shamil Zhumatov | Reuters Russian internet giant Yandex suspended operations at one of its key data centers on Thursday after a drone strike as Ukraine continues to target the country's infrastructure.
    — Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of operation
Noun
  • Their huge fortunes are the legitimate wages of superintendence; in the struggle for existence, money is the token of success.
    — Jeffery Vacante, Hartford Courant, 19 Jan. 2025
  • We were told that Russia used these companies to hack the brains of suggestible yokels, and that only wise superintendence of social-media conversation by progressives could save the world from fascism.
    — The Editors, National Review, 31 Oct. 2022
Definition of superintendence
Noun
  • The court’s decision comes just weeks after the administration erected the first border wall panels in the Big Bend sector in the middle of September.
    — Rebecca Santana, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
  • An administration official told ABC News that’s because the federal government didn’t collect the user fees in those states.
    — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of administration

Browse Nearby Words

supervising
supervision
supervisions
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Supervision.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/supervision. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of inscrutable

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All