dictate
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.
to say or read aloud something to be written down by a person or recorded by a machine.
to give orders.
an authoritative order or command.
a guiding or governing principle, requirement, etc.: to follow the dictates of one's conscience.
Origin of dictate
1Other words for dictate
6 | bidding, urging, prompting |
Other words from dictate
- dic·tat·ing·ly, adverb
- mis·dic·tat·ed, adjective
- pre·dic·tate, verb (used with object), pre·dic·tat·ed, pre·dic·tat·ing.
- re·dic·tate, verb, re·dic·tat·ed, re·dic·tat·ing.
- un·dic·tat·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use dictate in a sentence
I made my way, on hands and knees, to a bed near the dictating voice.
And he would — Clinton would get very deeply involved in editing the drafts and dictating new language.
Clinton, Bush, and Obama Speechwriters on How They Made the State of the Union Address | Chris Riback | January 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSo the first step is reading and interviewing, then dictating my notes.
Even in his letters, dictating his letters, he would say everything twice.
Murder, Sex, and the Writing Life: Norman Mailer’s Biography | Ronald K. Fried | November 19, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTJohn Gielgud, says Welles, “used to play Shakespeare as though he were dictating it to his secretary.”
He seldom got up till late in the day, dictating his letters and receiving his ministers in bed.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-PattisonBecause of God's authority dictating it as a law, his will revealed conferred obligation.
The Ordinance of Covenanting | John CunninghamBut M. Boscheron, my secretary, respectfully remarks that I keep on dictating the same sentence.
Marguerite | Anatole FranceIn the afternoon I generally work again, now alone drafting, now with Belle dictating.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 25 (of 25) | Robert Louis StevensonAfter a while he turned to his own books and spent most of the day reading or in dictating to Las Cases.
Napoleon's Young Neighbor | Helen Leah Reed
British Dictionary definitions for dictate
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
an authoritative command
a guiding principle or rule: the dictates of reason
Origin of dictate
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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