dictate
Americanverb (used with object)
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dictates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dictated,
past participle, past
-
dictating
present participle
-
to say or read (something) aloud for another person to transcribe or for a machine to record.
to dictate some letters to a secretary.
-
to prescribe or lay down authoritatively or peremptorily; command unconditionally.
to dictate peace terms to a conquered enemy.
verb (used without object)
-
dictates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dictated,
past participle, past
-
dictating
present participle
-
to say or read aloud something to be written down by a person or recorded by a machine.
-
to give orders.
noun
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dictates
plural
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an authoritative order or command.
-
a guiding or governing principle, requirement, etc..
to follow the dictates of one's conscience.
- Synonyms:
- bidding
verb
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to say (messages, letters, speeches, etc) aloud for mechanical recording or verbatim transcription by another person
-
(tr) to prescribe (commands) authoritatively
-
(intr) to act in a tyrannical manner; seek to impose one's will on others
noun
-
an authoritative command
-
a guiding principle or rule
the dictates of reason
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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redictateverb
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predictateverb (used with object)
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misdictatedadjective
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undictatedadjective
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dictatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dictatesimple
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dictatessimple
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have dictatedperfect
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has dictatedperfect
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am dictatingprogressive
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are dictatingprogressive
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is dictatingprogressive
-
have been dictatingperfect progressive
-
has been dictatingperfect progressive
Past
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dictatedsimple
-
had dictatedperfect
-
was dictatingprogressive
-
were dictatingprogressive
-
had been dictatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dictate
First recorded in 1585–95; from Latin dictātus “said repeatedly,” past participle of dictāre “to say repeatedly, order, prescribe,” from dīcere “to say, speak, tell”
Explanation
When you dictate something, you are giving orders — acting a bit like a dictator. Dictate can also be used in a broader sense. Weather often dictates how many layers of clothes you wear, and the school rules dictate how you behave in and out of class. In a very different meaning, dictate means to say something out loud to a person or into a machine so it can be recorded. Up until fairly recently, bosses dictated letters and reports to secretaries who wrote them down.
Vocabulary lists containing dictate
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 3
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You Can Say That Again: Dic and Dict
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The New SAT: The Language of the Test
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Even so, Ellison acknowledged that "nobody can dictate what audiences will love."
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who supports Stevens, doesn’t dictate each race, and some of his preferences are made more overt than others.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
They are naturally occuring in the body, signaling molecules that dictate major physiological processes like tissue repair or metabolism.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
According to Mensch and Smith, those customers are seeking a combination of greater AI model choice—in other words, from outside the U.S.—and the ability to dictate where and how their infrastructure is run.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
“It is not for us to dictate his stay,” Yishan said.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
At the core of her allegations is a distinction that banks make between frauds and scams, which dictates how customer claims are handled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The bulks list rather dictates what ingredients compounding pharmacies can use when mixing custom medications for patients with a specific prescription.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
There’s no law that dictates how Congress should resolve the looming Medicare financial crisis.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
This album – 100% independently produced and distributed outside of the powerful entertainment machine that had forged Choi – rejects the dictates of a society that first rejected him.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026
“Etiquette dictates it be the left shoulder, your highness,” Manet said around a mouthful of bread, grinning.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
At Aston Martin, Lance Stroll finished in 13th, ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso, their positions dictated to a degree by luck under the VSC and their divergent strategies.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Spain dictated possession for much of the afternoon while Argentina defended stubbornly, forcing the final into extra time before the breakthrough finally came.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
The size of recruit classes are dictated by the department’s annual budget, which is approved by the City Council before each fiscal year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Sandford—to firmly establish that birthplace, rather than bloodline or race, dictated U.S. citizenship.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
He was their property, heart and soul, body and blood; what they did claimed every atom of him, sleeping and waking; it colored life and dictated the terms of death.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
Some communities have strong cultural traditions dictating who should fill the caretaker role — in many cases, that’s the eldest daughter.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
“People seem to be obsessed with now dictating what I’ll do and when?!”
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026
In 1962, Fifa issued eligibility criteria, dictating that players must have citizenship of the country they wished to play for, and could no longer represent more than one nation over their career.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
And of course, the irony is that these people who are notoriously bad at communicating themselves are the ones who are dictating how we in fact communicate to each other.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
Some time later, when I was more experienced at the firm, I was dictating some information to a white secretary when a white client whom she knew came into the office.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
