"commanding" definition, meaning, and origin

Adjective

Tending to give commands, authoritarian.
- Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises,...
Impressively dominant; very good and impressive.
- a commanding structure
- a man with a commanding presence
- Her colleagues say that [Dalia] Stasevska is eager to challenge the status quo both in the artistic realm and in life. Claire Chase, a prominent flutist and educator, described her as a “supernova,” praising her...
Dominating from above, giving a wide view (of a place or position)
- 2018, Rail, issue 857, July 18-July 31, article on Severn Bridge Junction signal box at Shrewsbury On the top floor is the lever frame where signalmen are afforded an uninterrupted and commanding view of the junction...

The act of giving a command.
- God could then have dispelled their ignorance by revealing to them that He had issued those commands; the fact of the occurrence of the earlier commandings would be the content of the revelation. - 2006, William E....