dictate

USDIK-tayt/ˈdɪkˌteɪt/dik-TAYT/ˌdɪkˈteɪt/

As a nounDIK-tayt

4 meanings of dictate

1
verbtransitive or intransitive
To speak words aloud so that another person can write or type them down.
The manager dictates his emails to a secretary each morning.
He likes to dictate his notes into his phone while driving.
2
verbtransitive
To give orders, command, or control how things are done.
Wealthy donors should not dictate university policy.
For years the empire dictated terms to its weaker neighbors.
Similarcontrol, impose, prescribe, decree
3
verbtransitive
To determine an outcome or affect it in a decisive way.
Supply and demand dictate the price of most goods.
The terrain dictated the route the engineers had to follow.
Similardetermine, govern, decide, control, shape
4
nouncountable
An authoritative order or command issued by someone in power.
They resented every dictate handed down by the new regime.
The court ignored the dictates of the ruling party.
Similarorder, command, decree, edict, directive

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of dictate apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meaning 4

First recorded in 1581, borrowed from Latin dictātum ('a thing said, something dictated'), from dictō ('to pronounce or declare repeatedly'), a frequentative of dīcō ('to say, speak'). It is a doublet of diktat.

Meanings 1–3

First recorded in 1577, borrowed from Latin dictātus, the past participle of dictō ('to pronounce or declare repeatedly'), a frequentative of dīcō ('to say, speak').