DEFINITION OF CONTROL & CHAOS

control

kənˈtrəʊl/

noun: control

1. the power to influence or direct people's behaviour or the course of events.

"the whole operation is under the control of a production manager"

synonyms: jurisdiction, sway, power, authority, command, dominance,domination, government, mastery, leadership, rule, reign, sovereignty,supremacy, ascendancy, predominance

• the ability to manage a machine, vehicle, or other moving object.

"he lost control of his car"

• the restriction of an activity, tendency, or phenomenon.

"crime control"

synonyms: restraint, constraint, limitation, restriction, check, curb, brake, rein

• the ability to restrain one's own emotions or actions.

"she was goaded beyond control"

synonyms: self-control, self-restraint, restraint, self-command, self-mastery, self-discipline

• a means of limiting or regulating something.

plural noun: controls

"growing controls on local spending"

• a switch or other device by which a device or vehicle is regulated.

"he had the chance to take the controls and fly the glider"

synonyms: switch, knob, button, dial, handle, lever

• the place from which a system or activity is directed or where a particular item is verified.

"passport control"

synonyms: headquarters, HQ, base, centre of operations, command post

• COMPUTING

short for control key.

"note that Control plus various keys on the numeric keypad will move you around the text"

2. a person or thing used as a standard of comparison for checking the results of a survey or experiment. "platelet activity was higher in patients with the disease than in the controls"

synonyms: standard of comparison, benchmark, standard, check

3. a member of an intelligence organization who personally directs the activities of a spy.

"he sat with his KGB control as the details of his new assignment were explained"

4. BRIDGE

a high card that will prevent the opponents from establishing a particular suit.

"he has controls in both minor suits"

verb

verb: control; 3rd person present: controls; past tense: controlled; past participle:controlled; gerund or present participle: controlling

1.determine the behaviour or supervise the running of. "he was appointed to control the company's marketing strategy"

synonyms: be in charge of, run, be in control of, manage, direct, administer, head,preside over, have authority over, supervise, superintend, oversee, guide, steer

• maintain influence or authority over.

"there were never enough masters to control the unruly mobs of boys"

limit the level, intensity, or numbers of.

"he had to control his temper"

synonyms: restrain, keep in check, curb, check, contain, hold back, bridle, rein in,keep a tight rein on, subdue, suppress, repress, master, damp down

• remain calm and reasonable despite provocation.

"her eyes flashed angrily, but she made an effort to control herself"

regulate (a mechanical or scientific process).

"the airflow is controlled by a fan"

synonyms: regulate, modulate, adjust

• (of a drug) restricted by law in respect of use and possession.

adjective: controlled

"a sentence for possessing controlled substances"

2. take into account (an extraneous factor that might affect the results of an experiment).

"no attempt was made to control for variations"

Origin

late Middle English (as a verb in the sense ‘check or verify accounts’, especially by referring to a duplicate register): from Anglo-Norman French contreroller ‘keep a copy of a roll of accounts’, from medieval Latin contrarotulare, from contrarotulus ‘copy of a roll’, from contra- ‘against’ + rotulus ‘a roll’. The noun is perhaps via French contrôle

chaos

ˈkeɪɒs/

noun

noun: chaos; plural noun: chaoses

1. complete disorder and confusion.

"snow caused chaos in the region"

synonyms: disorder, disarray, disorganization, confusion, mayhem, bedlam,pandemonium, madness, havoc, turmoil, tumult, commotion,disruption, upheaval, furore, frenzy, uproar, hue and cry, babel, hurly-burly

antonyms: order, orderliness

PHYSICS

the property of a complex system whose behaviour is so unpredictable as to appear random, owing to great sensitivity to small changes in conditions.

the formless matter supposed to have existed before the creation of the universe.

GREEK MYTHOLOGY

the first created being, from which came the primeval deities Gaia, Tartarus, Erebus, and Nyx.

Origin: French