dictation

[dik-tey-shuhn]

noun

1. the act or manner of dictating for reproduction in writing.

2. the act or manner of transcribing words uttered by another.

3. words that are dictated or that are reproduced from dictation.

4. the playing or singing of music to be notated by a listener, especially as a technique of training the ear.

5. music notated from dictation.

6. the act of commanding arbitrarily.

7. something commanded.

dictation

/ dɪkˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of dictating material to be recorded or taken down in writing

2. the material dictated

3. authoritative commands or the act of giving them

Other Word Forms

• dictational adjective
• nondictation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dictation¹

1650–60; < Late Latin dictātiōn- (stem of dictātiō ) a dictating < Latin dictāt ( us ) ( dictate ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

In addition to cutting funds for PBS and NPR, Trump has, via executive order, threatened to defund elite universities, including Harvard, that refuse to take government dictation over curriculum and hiring policies.

From Los Angeles Times

Speech-to-text programs are becoming more popular for everyday tasks like hands-free dictation, helping people who are visually impaired, and transcribing speech for those who are hard of hearing.

From Science Daily

The Champs-Élysées Committee has staged other open-air events in the past, including a mass movie showing and the world’s largest dictation event.

From Seattle Times

Typing, voice dictation technology or my usual chicken scratch would’ve done the job far faster.

From Los Angeles Times

Trump spokesman Steve Cheung, either taking dictation from the boss or channeling him perfectly, put out this humdinger of a statement in advance of the event:

From Salon

Related Words

• transcription