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
Words Nearby dictate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use dictate in a sentence
Audiophiles often lean toward passive speakers because they allow the users to try out different amplifiers and DACs and to upgrade components as their taste or budget dictates, all while keeping the same speakers.
The best bookshelf speakers fill your room with sound, not clutter | Tony Ware | July 19, 2021 | Popular-ScienceThe desire for retribution is understandable when someone has taken an innocent life, but ought, in a civilized society, to be constrained by dictates of justice and mercy, even when the criminal himself has acted inhumanely.
Moral clarity would dictate that civil-rights and other civic leaders would speak out against such a senseless act of violence.
Neither trusts the other, yet cultural norms dictate that everyone remain cordial.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley | Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman | November 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSo, in short, everyone knows Leung is a mere puppet with zero power and will read out whatever the communists dictate to him.
Beijing/Hong Kong: A Tale of Two Cities as Demonstrations Continue | Ben Leung | October 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Because the federal government really should dictate all that, right?
Now Let’s Replace All the Other Big-Spending Eric Cantors | Nick Gillespie | June 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHow could I forget his dictate to always be proud to be a Jew, even in circumstances when it might not seem to ones advantage?
A Jewish Ex-Con Recalls Keeping Kosher with the Faithful in Prison | Daniel Genis | May 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTEven the purest selfishness would dictate a policy of social insurance.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockDo not let scandal or a mere love of gossip dictate a letter of intelligence.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness | Florence HartleyIt is not the desire to deceive, but the desire to please, which will dictate such a course.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness | Florence HartleyFrance would never again send a Barillon to dictate to the cabinet of England.
The History of England from the Accession of James II. | Thomas Babington MacaulayIt was disputed among the Mussulmans whether it was eternal or God had created it in order to dictate it to Mahomet.
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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