CAPTAINING Synonyms: 53 Similar and Opposite Words

captaining

verb

present participle of captain

as in supervising

to be in charge of if you do well on this, you'll be asked to captain the next mission

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in governing

to exercise authority or power over captained the project for a few days while the boss was out of town

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in leading

to serve as leader of you did a good job of captaining the team

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 captaining Knight has an incredible track record of success from college to the pros and at the international level, captaining Team USA Women's hockey to a gold medal at the 2026 Olympics in February. — Matt Finkel, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026 Archie Gray, who started with the armband after captaining the team throughout pre-season, recognised the team needed to show more fight in a post-match interview with Sky Sports. — Elias Burke, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026 Narrated by Charles Marlow, Heart of Darkness follows Marlow’s journey up the Congo River, captaining a ship into the heart of the African continent while searching for a trader called Kurtz. — Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026 Princess Kate excelled at field hockey, captaining her team at Marlborough College. — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 17 Aug. 2026 Faf du Plessis, captaining the Texas Super Kings, is at the forefront of Major League Cricket's ambitious bid to establish cricket in the US. — Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2026 Couch was captaining a 31-foot boat out of Marathon, towing Supraja Alaparthi, 33, her son, who was 10 years old at the time, and her then 9-year-old nephew. — Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 4 Aug. 2026 Baresi is regarded as an AC Milan icon, having spent his entire 20-year career with the club, winning six Serie A titles and three top European trophies, and captaining the team for 15 seasons before retiring in 1997. — CNN Money, 31 July 2026 Verhoeff is not only expected to be a big part of North Dakota’s blue line this upcoming season but will likely once again play at the World Junior Championships, possibly captaining the Canadian team with the tournament taking place in Edmonton. — Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 24 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for captaining

Verb

Wharton professor Peter Conti-Brown discusses whether the banking system offers a useful model for supervising powerful AI companies.

— Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026
Many camps do not allow staff to use or carry phones while supervising campers.

— Gili Malinsky, CNBC, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of supervising

Verb

School district rules While California has some laws governing electric bicycles, school districts may have varying rules.

— Madison Smalstig, Sacbee.com, 31 Aug. 2026
Their families, educations, personalities, professional backgrounds, governing styles and political skills could not have been more different.

— John T. Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of governing

Verb

Moments before, with Wells still at the plate and the Yankees leading 7-1, Flemming and color analyst Will Middlebrooks vented about Chisholm stealing second base and third base during the at-bat.

— Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Check the leading management bestsellers and textbooks, including Gary Hamel’s Humanocracy, Eric Ries’s Incorruptible, Stephen Robbins and Mary Coulter’s Management and older classics like Michael Porter’s Competitive Strategy.

— Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of leading

Verb

Parker brings more than two decades of experience producing and overseeing film and television projects across all genres.

— Matt Grobar, Deadline, 26 Aug. 2026
The Kansas City Immigration Court tries to have at least seven judges overseeing cases, Sharma-Crawford said.

— Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of overseeing

Verb

Niger’s ruling junta survived its most serious internal challenge since the 2023 coup after renegade soldiers mutinied in Niamey and Russian Africa Corps fighters helped presidential guards retake a key airbase.

— Chinedu Asadu, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
After six months of war, Iran’s leadership has coalesced around a hard core of military generals and clerics long entrenched in the ruling theocracy.

— Lee Keath, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of ruling

Verb

And Dean will be the quintessential Mike, commanding the defense as the green dot.

— Sam Warren, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Eastern Hills closed the first half in style when Highlander running back, Cameron Rembel, scored on a touchdown run, sending the Highlanders into the locker room with a commanding 42-0 lead.

— Raul Avila, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of commanding

Verb

What those reviews don't capture is the proportion of bookings that complete without incident, which, across platforms handling millions of reservations annually, is considerably higher than review distributions suggest.

— Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026
Wash hands after handling any pet food and keep children away from pet food dishes and treats.

— Kimberly Baker, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of handling

Verb

Investors are also betting on a future DeepSeek listing in the mainland, said Wayne Shiong, managing partner at Argo Venture Partners, as the startup risks an exodus of senior engineers without financial incentives to stay.

— Anniek Bao,Elaine Yu, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
In addition to managing facilities, his other priorities include enacting policies or resources to ensure students are successful beyond graduation and focusing on student mental health and well-being.

— Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of managing

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captained

captaining

captains

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“Captaining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captaining. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of captaining

verb

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