dictum
Americannoun
-
an authoritative pronouncement; judicial assertion.
- Synonyms:
- declaration, order, fiat, decree, edict
-
a saying; maxim.
noun
-
a formal or authoritative statement or assertion; pronouncement
-
a popular saying or maxim
-
law See obiter dictum
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dictum
1660–70; < Latin: something said, a saying, command, word, noun use of neuter past participle of dīcere to say, speak; cf. index
Explanation
"You are what you eat" is a dictum, and so is a law requiring you to curb your dog. A dictum is a formal pronouncement, a rule, or a statement that expresses a truth universally acknowledged. Dictum dates from the 16th Century. It descended from a Latin word that means "something said." In contemporary use, it means more like "something that is officially said." If the principal of your school issues a dictum declaring "no jeans in school," it's time to go shopping.
Vocabulary lists containing dictum
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Fahrenheit 451
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You Can Say That Again: Dic and Dict
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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.
See Examples For:
Mr. Emanuel approvingly cites the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s dictum to “fight terrorism as if there’s no peace process, and work to achieve peace as if there’s no terror.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
In his own Senate hearing last month, Warsh mocked policymakers and economists for ignoring Friedman’s dictum.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
Putting the experience of making “Faces of Death” in perspective, Goldhaber references Jean-Luc Godard’s famous dictum that every film is a documentary of its own making.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2026
It reminds me of the long-held dictum that animated series can get away with plots that their live-action counterparts either can’t or struggle to enact convincingly.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2025
Al Ulbrickson’s “no smoking, no drinking, no chewing, no cussing” dictum always rang like a bell in the backs of their minds.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Bend menswear’s dicta to your will like Thelonious Monk stretching time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2023
In these talks, Milch mixes jokes, anecdotes from his own life, lessons he learned from his teacher Robert Penn Warren, and dicta such as "Don't think about writing when you're not writing."
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2022
The Court made clear, in dicta, that such a child is rare.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 29, 2021
Rather, the OLC memo cited three appeals court cases: two criminal cases that discussed the possibility only in speculative dicta, and one civil case.
From Slate ● Dec. 11, 2018
The Pythagoreans lived according to the dicta of their leader.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
She followed her father’s dictums on health: Modern medicine was nearly useless, and the “good body” would heal itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
A new school system will be developed from a “bottom-up” movement, not “top-down” dictums.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 3, 2023
These dictums ranged from “Our Revolution Must Be Intersectional” to “Gather Often” as a way to “honor vulnerability and connect over gratitude.”
From New York Times ● Oct. 29, 2018
The Wing, a women-only social club and workspace in New York City, got flak for its line of Handmaid’s swag, too, which included notebooks and pens embossed with peppy dictums of female empowerment.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 10, 2018
In these and other passages Dürer speaks about "nature," and enjoins on the artist respect for and conformity to "nature" in a manner which reminds us of that still current in dictums about art.
From Albert Durer by Moore, T. Sturge
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.
