commandment
Americannoun
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commandments
plural
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a command or mandate.
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(sometimes initial capital letter) any of the Ten Commandments.
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the act or power of commanding.
noun
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a divine command, esp one of the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament
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literary any command
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of commandment
1200–50; Middle English com ( m ) and ( e ) ment < Anglo-French, Old French com ( m ) andement. See command, -ment
Explanation
If someone believes that God has directed them to do something, it's a commandment. If your parents grimly order you to clean your room, you can also consider that a commandment. Strictly speaking, a commandment is divinely ordered, like the Ten Commandments in the Bible. But you should feel free to use this word for any solemn, serious directive or set of guiding principles. The commandments of your French club, for example, might include "no speaking in English" and "don't be late — unless you brought croissants."
Vocabulary lists containing commandment
Civilizations and Peoples of the Fertile Crescent, Lessons 5–7
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Module 3: Vocabulary Video Words
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for June 22–June 28, 2024
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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:
He said his ultra-Orthodox upbringing had shaped his "socialist" outlook, as his father had followed the Jewish commandment to give charity to the poor.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
For observant Jews, the Sabbath, or Shabbos, isn’t a wellness experiment; it’s a divine commandment that forms a cultural backbone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
“Do you think we’re going to betray the greatest commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2025
The practice is derived from the Bible's fourth commandment which states "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy".
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2024
It makes me scramble around in my head, trying to imagine my way around his commandment, but I cannot.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
I was following one of the most important commandments of retirement: Keep busy to stave off feelings of isolation or depression.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 18, 2025
They've inspired great works of art and literature, motivated countless believers to obey God's commandments and driven some of the bloodiest conflicts in the collective biography of our species.
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2023
For example, the first of the commandments given to Moses by Yahweh demands that the Hebrews “have no other gods before me.”
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
Father Ioann adds that he is a Christian pacifist whose moral views are entirely based on the commandments of the Gospel and canons of the Russian Orthodox Church.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2022
If the world is to be understood, if we are to avoid such logical paradoxes when traveling at high speeds, there are some rules, commandments of Nature, that must be obeyed.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
