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
- decreeable adjective
- decreer noun
- predecree verb (used with object)
- undecreed adjective
- well-decreed adjective
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; decern; (v.) Middle English decreen, derivative of the noun
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.
All of them stopped obediently when Bronden decreed, to help cut the limp, spiky tips from the pine-smelling trees that were growing along the way.
From Literature
She said a public safety decree dating to the early 2000s fails to provide a mechanism for restoring buildings constructed before it was issued.
From Barron's
The Rampart case ultimately led to a federal consent decree, court oversight of the Police Department and a series of reforms.
From Los Angeles Times
"We don't want a consultation. We want this decree revoked," Indigenous leader Gilson Tupinamba, wearing a large headdress of blue and orange feathers, told a meeting with government representatives on Wednesday.
From Barron's
Sharaa also issued a decree recognising Kurdish cultural, linguistic and civil rights by making Kurdish a national language, granting nationality to stateless Kurds, and declaring their new year a national holiday.
From BBC
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.
