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dictate

[verb dik-teyt, dik-teyt; noun dik-teyt]
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verb (used with object), dic·tat·ed, dic·tat·ing.
  1. to say or read (something) aloud for another person to transcribe or for a machine to record: to dictate some letters to a secretary.
  2. to prescribe or lay down authoritatively or peremptorily; command unconditionally: to dictate peace terms to a conquered enemy.
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verb (used without object), dic·tat·ed, dic·tat·ing.
  1. to say or read aloud something to be written down by a person or recorded by a machine.
  2. to give orders.
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noun
  1. an authoritative order or command.
  2. a guiding or governing principle, requirement, etc.: to follow the dictates of one's conscience.
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Origin of dictate

1585–95; < Latin dictātus, past participle of dictāre to say repeatedly, prescribe, order, frequentative of dīcere to say
Related formsdic·tat·ing·ly, adverbmis·dic·tat·ed, adjectivepre·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

Synonyms

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6. bidding, urging, prompting.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for dictated

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It was as if some will independent of my own had dictated the words.

  • So Betty dictated and he wrote: yes, it had come to this—she dictated and he wrote, and signed too.

    Fair Margaret

    H. Rider Haggard

  • Sure I am that your conduct is not dictated by a regard for my ease or my welfare.

    Imogen

    William Godwin

  • I feared that you might misunderstand the motives which have dictated my conduct.

    Vivian Grey

    Earl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli

  • Old Mme. Rougon must have dictated it; he could hear in it the very inflections of her voice.

    Doctor Pascal

    Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for dictated

dictate

verb (dɪkˈteɪt)
  1. to say (messages, letters, speeches, etc) aloud for mechanical recording or verbatim transcription by another person
  2. (tr) to prescribe (commands) authoritatively
  3. (intr) to act in a tyrannical manner; seek to impose one's will on others
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noun (ˈdɪkteɪt)
  1. an authoritative command
  2. a guiding principle or rulethe dictates of reason
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Word Origin

C17: from Latin dictāre to say repeatedly, order, from dīcere to say
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dictated

dictate

n.

1590s, from Latin dictatum "something dictated," noun use of neuter past participle of dictare (see dictate (v.)).

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dictate

v.

1590s, "to practice dictation, say aloud for another to write down," from Latin dictatus, past participle of dictare "say often, prescribe," frequentative of dicere "tell, say" (see diction). Sense of "to command" is 1620s. Related: Dictated; dictates; dictating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper