DICTATE


Meaning of DICTATE in English

I. ˈdikˌtāt also  ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷; usu -ād.+V verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: Latin dictatus, past participle of dictare to pronounce, assert, dictate, freq. of dicere to say — more at diction

intransitive verb

1. : to speak, recite, or read off for a person to write down or transcribe or for a machine to record for later transcription

dictating too fast for the secretary to transcribe

dictating into the machine

2. : to speak or act commandingly or domineeringly, imposing orders, injunctions, and terms authoritatively or autocratically

a stern father and husband always dictating to his family

: prescribe , command

to act spontaneously as the heart dictates — Bertrand Russell

as the situation dictates

transitive verb

1. : to speak, recite, or read off (something) for a person to write down or transcribe or for a machine to record

dictating a letter to the secretary

dictating test questions to a class

dictating a statement to the reporters

sometimes : to compose while speaking

2.

a. : to issue as an order usually peremptorily

the duke dictating what part each should take

b. : to command or impose authoritatively : prescribe , enjoin : direct forcefully or irresistibly

dictating peace terms to the vanquished

c. : to require or determine necessarily

the weight of the floor dictates use of heavy supports

an arrangement dictated by the situation

d. : to bring into being, form, determine, or influence commandingly

patroness who has set herself up to dictate public taste — Lillian de la Torre

e. : to designate authoritatively, overriding possible opposition

a president strong enough to dictate his successor

Synonyms:

prescribe , ordain , decree , impose : dictate implies an authoritative direction, usually peremptory, or intended as not to be questioned

groups trying to dictate who shall and who shall not be retained on the faculties of the colleges and universities of the nation — W.T.Gossett

he continued … to dictate the lives of the parishioners — Willa Cather

the avarice which dictated every detail of their lives — Marcia Davenport

prescribe implies a formulated rule, law, or order and an authoritative pronouncement

my teachers should have prescribed to me, 1st, sincerity; 2d, sincerity; 3d, sincerity — H.D.Thoreau

the terms prescribed by law — John Marshall

driven to describe paths round the sun by exactly the same forces as prescribed the orderly motions of the planets — James Jeans

ordain implies enactment or institution by a supreme and unquestioned authority or power, usually suggesting the authoritatively definitive settlement of a question

in this same period Parliament … ordained that everyone who died should be buried in English cloth — G.M.Trevelyan

nature inexorably ordains that the human race shall perish of famine if it stops working — G.B.Shaw

a code of rigid and inflexible rules, arbitrarily ordained, and to be blindly obeyed — Havelock Ellis

decree implies a pronouncement by a governmental authority, a divine power, or an authoritative force

complainant must so state his case that … court can decree upon it — Detroit Law Journal

Apollo decreed that nobody should believe her, although she spoke the truth — Maxwell Nurnberg & Morris Rosenblum

blue eyes which his parents' chromosomes decreed for him — Ralph de Toledano

impose implies a subjecting to what must be borne, endured, or submitted to, or a dictatorial forcing of something upon someone or a compelling prescription of something

to impose impossible taxes on a poverty-stricken people

to impose limitations on hours of work — American Guide Series: New Hampshire

we are willing therefore to believe that destiny is imposed upon us — Archibald MacLeish

II. ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ sometimes  ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷ noun

( -s )

Etymology: Latin dictatum, from neuter of dictatus

1.

a. : an authoritative rule : a prescription or injunction authoritatively pronounced (as in scripture or law) : a directive given cogency by conscience, reason, virtue, or other ruling principle

the dictates of good taste

dictates of common sense

b. : a command by one in authority

the ruler's dictates

2. archaic : material uttered for another's transcription

3. obsolete : dictum , maxim , precept

4. : diktat

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.