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:
Shylock’s pound of flesh invokes this divine commandment, which would have been familiar to everyone in early modern Europe as governments began using bonds as financial instruments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
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
Some referred to the commandment "thou shalt not kill".
From BBC ● May 13, 2025
“We have a commandment to conquer it,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2024
I asked, forgetting in my astonishment the commandment to hold my tongue.
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
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
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.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 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
It was their bible, containing, as it allegedly did, the history of their race and the commandments that governed their extended lives.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
