dictate

1 an authoritative rule

2 a guiding principle; "the dictates of reason"

1 issue commands or orders for [syn: order, prescribe]

2 say out loud for the purpose of recording; "He dictated a report to his secretary"

3 rule as a dictator

English

Etymology

• From Latin dictatum, past participle of dictare, the frequentative derived from dicere, "to say".

Pronunciation

(US) IPA: /ˈdɪkˌteɪt/

• Rhymes: -eɪt

Noun

1. An order or command.

   I must obey the dictates of my conscience.

Translations

Verb

1. To order, command, control.
   • 2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press (ISBN 0-521-78512-X), page 409,

     Trademark Owners will nevertheless try to dictate how their marks are to be represented, but dictionary publishers with spine can resist such pressure.

2. To speak in order for someone to write down the words.

   She is dictating a letter to a stenographer.

   The French teacher dictated a passage from Victor Hugo.

Derived terms

• dictation
• dictator

Translations

Dictate can refer to:

• Dictation
• Dictator
• Edict

<!-- Long comment to avoid being listed on short pages To give instuctions

a priori truth, act, adage, ana, analects, aphorism, apothegm, appoint, authorize, axiom, behest, bestride, bid, bidding, bill, brocard, brook no denial, bylaw, byword, call for, call on, call the signals, call upon, canon, catchword, caveat, charge, collected sayings, command, commandment, commission, compel, constrain, control, current saying, declare, decree, demand, dictation, dictum, direct, direct order, direction, distich, dominate, edict, enactment, enjoin, epigram, exact, expression, fiat, form, formality, formula, formulary, give an order, give the word, gnome, golden rule, golden saying, govern, guide, have the ascendancy, hest, imperative, impose, injunction, insist upon, institution, instruct, instruction, issue a command, issue a writ, jus, law, lay down, lead, leave no option, legislation, lex, make obligatory, manage, mandate, master, maxim, measure, moral, mot, motto, necessitate, oblige, oracle, ordain, order, order about, ordinance, ordonnance, phrase, pithy saying, play first fiddle, pleasure, postulate, precept, predominate, preponderate, prescribe, prescript, prescription, prevail, principium, principle, proclaim, promulgate, pronounce, pronouncement, proposition, proverb, proverbial saying, proverbs, regulation, require, requirement, rubric, rule, rule the roost, ruling, saw, say, say the word, say-so, saying, self-evident truth, sentence, sententious expression, set, settled principle, sloka, special order, standing order, statute, stock saying, sutra, take no denial, take the lead, teaching, tell, text, theorem, truism, truth, twist, ukase, universal truth, utter, verse, wear the pants, will, wisdom, wisdom literature, wise saying, witticism, word, word of command, words of wisdom