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