dictate
to say or read (something) aloud for another person to transcribe or for a machine to record: to dictate some letters to a secretary.
to prescribe or lay down authoritatively or peremptorily; command unconditionally: to dictate peace terms to a conquered enemy.
to say or read aloud something to be written down by a person or recorded by a machine.
to give orders.
an authoritative order or command.
a guiding or governing principle, requirement, etc.: to follow the dictates of one's conscience.
Origin of dictate
1Other words for dictate
6 | bidding, urging, prompting |
Other words from dictate
- dic·tat·ing·ly, adverb
- mis·dic·tat·ed, adjective
- pre·dic·tate, verb (used with object), pre·dic·tat·ed, pre·dic·tat·ing.
- re·dic·tate, verb, re·dic·tat·ed, re·dic·tat·ing.
- un·dic·tat·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use dictate in a sentence
In the long run, this might end up being more feasible for the IOC than clinging to some maximalist and—let’s face it—illusory dictate of total neutrality.
The Inherent Dilemma of Olympic Protest Rules | Martin Fritz Huber | December 14, 2020 | Outside OnlinePublic pressure soon dictated the need for a formal White House reaction to the Iran revelation.
How the Reagan White House Bungled Its Response to Iran-Contra Revelations | Malcolm Byrne | November 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAll of these rules grew organically from the community rather than being dictated downward by a central authority.
The remainder is “peculiar” motion: movement of galaxies as dictated by the presence of matter nearby.
Laniakea: The Milky Way’s Place in the Heavens | Matthew R. Francis | September 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI dictated a return note thanking him for the thoughtful gift and encouraging note.
Power in Washington was dictated by seniority for generations.
Voters Hate Seniors More Than Crooks; Can Thad Cochran Survive That? | Patricia Murphy | June 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTDavid Arden, as he promised, had dictated to him in outline the awful case he had massed against his client.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le FanuIf we could find the one witness, the one who was present when the old man dictated his will at the last!
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn | Margaret PenroseHigh reasons of State may be presumed to have dictated the Government policy.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowAccording to Moréri there were in his day seventy systems of chronology founded on the history dictated by God himself.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)How, indeed, can it be believed that God dictated false dates?
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
British Dictionary definitions for dictate
to say (messages, letters, speeches, etc) aloud for mechanical recording or verbatim transcription by another person
(tr) to prescribe (commands) authoritatively
(intr) to act in a tyrannical manner; seek to impose one's will on others
an authoritative command
a guiding principle or rule: the dictates of reason
Origin of dictate
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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