commandment

[kuh-mand-muhnt, -mahnd-]

noun

1. a command or mandate.

2. (sometimes initial capital letter),  any of the Ten Commandments.

3. the act or power of commanding. commanding.

commandment

/ kəˈmɑːndmənt /

noun

1. a divine command, esp one of the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament

2. literary,  any command

Word History and Origins

Origin of commandment¹

1200–50; Middle English com ( m ) and ( e ) ment < Anglo-French, Old French com ( m ) andement. See command, -ment

Example Sentences

Kony said he wanted to install a government based on the biblical 10 commandments, and he was fighting for the rights of the Acholi people in northern Uganda.

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For Christians he said, the responsibility is even greater: It is a commandment.

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The Odo commandment “do not despair of death” reads on the surface like compassion — acceptance of loss is something everyone, including Faruq, needs to manage.

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Despite his bellicose Christianity, however, Donald Trump's appointee had no problem violating the biblical commandment against bearing false witness.

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“Do you think we’re going to betray the greatest commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself?”

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Related Words

• edict 
• precept