regulated

1. 1
   adjective

   Controlled or governed by official rules and regulations.

   Pharmaceutical companies operate in a tightly regulated environment.

   Utility prices remain regulated by a government agency to prevent abuse.

   Similarcontrolled, supervised

   Oppositeunregulated, deregulated

   Note

   Unlike the participle, the adjective is gradable. A market can be more regulated or most regulated, and it pairs naturally with intensifiers like tightly or heavily. Its two opposites are not interchangeable. Unregulated describes something that no rules have reached. Deregulated describes something whose rules were deliberately taken away, so a deregulated industry was once regulated.

2. 2
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of regulate.

   Officials regulated fishing in the bay to protect the native species.

   Trade between the two nations was regulated by a strict treaty.

   Note

   A regular -ed form doing double duty. It is the simple past (officials regulated fishing), and after have or be it is the participle of perfect and passive constructions. It carries every meaning of regulate, including the mechanical one: a clock or valve can be regulated so it runs accurately. After be, the passive shades into the adjective meaning 'subject to rules'.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2