Control
Control verb - To look after and make decisions about.
Usage example: during the period that she controlled the company it was highly profitable
Operate is a synonym for control in activity topic. In some cases you can use "Operate" instead a verb "Control", when it comes to topics like use, navigate. popular alternative
Operate
Operate verb - To control the mechanical operation of.
Usage example: do not operate heavy machinery, including cars, after taking this medication
Control is a synonym for operate in work topic. You can use "Control" instead the word "Operate" as a verb or a noun, if it concerns topics such as run, direct, use, navigate. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
- After getting his superpowers, Peter struggles at first to operate and control them; his strength repeatedly breaks anything he touches and he's constantly breaking things accidentally, he keeps getting stuck to things, and his newfound extrasensory abilities freak him out.
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After Amy breaks up with him, Sheldon gets the bright idea to use a remote control to operate the camera when he does "Fun With Flags".
Source: Radar / Live-Action TV -
The David Hopkins webcomic Rework the Dead has the "purple light system" which allows species without limbs to use technology simply by looking at the control the want to operate and blinking
Source: Unusual User Interface
Cite this Source
Operate and Control. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/control/operate
Control & Operate. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/control/operate>.
Operate or Control. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/control/operate.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "control" and "operate" have occurred on timeline