dictate Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an authoritative rule
  2. noun a guiding principle
    • the dictates of reason
  3. verb issue commands or orders for
    prescribe; order.
  4. verb say out loud for the purpose of recording
    • He dictated a report to his secretary
  5. verb rule as a dictator

WordNet


Dic"tate transitive verb
Etymology
L. dictatus, p. p. of dictare, freq. of dicere to say. See Diction, and cf. Dight.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Dictated; present participle & verbal noun Dictating
Definitions
  1. To tell or utter so that another may write down; to inspire; to compose; as, to dictate a letter to an amanuensis.
    The mind which dictated the Iliad. Wayland.
    Pages dictated by the Holy Spirit. Macaulay.
  2. To say; to utter; to communicate authoritatively; to deliver (a command) to a subordinate; to declare with authority; to impose; as, to dictate the terms of a treaty; a general dictates orders to his troops.
    Whatsoever is dictated to us by God must be believed. Watts.
    Syn. -- To suggest; prescribe; enjoin; command; point out; urge; admonish.
Dic"tate intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To speak as a superior; to command; to impose conditions (on).
    Who presumed to dictate to the sovereign. Macaulay.
  2. To compose literary works; to tell what shall be written or said by another.
    Sylla could not skill of letters, and therefore knew not how to dictate. Bacon.
Dic"tate noun
Etymology
L. dictatum. See Dictate, v. t.
Definitions
  1. A statement delivered with authority; an order; a command; an authoritative rule, principle, or maxim; a prescription; as, listen to the dictates of your conscience; the dictates of the gospel.
    I credit what the Grecian dictates say. Prior.
    Syn. -- Command; injunction; direction suggestion; impulse; admonition.

Webster 1913