decree
Americannoun
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a formal and authoritative order, especially one having the force of law.
a presidential decree.
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Law. a judicial decision or order.
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Theology. one of the eternal purposes of God, by which events are foreordained.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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an edict, law, etc, made by someone in authority
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an order or judgment of a court made after hearing a suit, esp in matrimonial proceedings See decree nisi decree absolute
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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predecreeverb (used with object)
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decreeableadjective
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undecreedadjective
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decreernoun
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well-decreedadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have decreedperfect
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has decreedperfect 3rd person singular
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decreeingparticiple
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are decreeingprogressive
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decreessingular 3rd person
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has been decreeingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is decreeingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am decreeingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been decreeingperfect progressive
Past
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had decreedperfect
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was decreeingprogressive singular
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had been decreeingperfect progressive
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decreedparticiple
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decreedsimple
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were decreeingprogressive plural
Future
Etymology
Origin of decree
1275–1325; (noun) Middle English decre < Anglo-French decre, decret < Latin dēcrētum, noun use of neuter of dēcrētus, past participle of dēcernere; see decern; (v.) Middle English decreen, derivative of the noun
Explanation
Look carefully! A decree isn't something you get when you graduate. That one little letter change makes it something else altogether: a legally binding command or the announcement of such a thing. If you go back far enough, a decree referred to a decision handed down by the Roman emperor. In more modern usage, a divorce decree is the document issued by a court that terminates a marriage. And if you want to go out with someone on a date, but things keep preventing you from having the chance to ask, you could say that fate did not decree it to be so.
Vocabulary lists containing decree
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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Animal Farm
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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.
Three years later, the Cuban government instituted Decree 349, a policy that required artists to get permission from authorities before a performance.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 16, 2024
In claiming ownership, Turkey cited the 1906 Ottoman Decree, which asserts broad rights to antiquities.
From Reuters • Mar. 8, 2023
The Nazis responded to the February 1933 burning of the Reichstag, which they likely staged, by employing Article 48 to push through the Decree for the Protection of the People and the State.
From Salon • Sep. 27, 2022
“It not only missed the September 2021 deadline imposed by the Consent Decree, but eight months later, the policy is still not in place.”
From Seattle Times • May 26, 2022
“The Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry!”
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
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.
