# dictate

Pronunciation: US say "DIK-tayt" /ˈdɪkˌteɪt/; UK say "dik-TAYT" /ˌdɪkˈteɪt/

## Verb

1. To speak words aloud so that another person can write or type them down.
   - Simple: To say words out loud so that another person can write them down.
   - _The manager dictates his emails to a secretary each morning._
   - _He likes to dictate his notes into his phone while driving._
2. To give orders, command, or control how things are done.
   - Simple: To tell others what they must do and expect them to obey.
   - _Wealthy donors should not dictate university policy._
   - _For years the empire dictated terms to its weaker neighbors._
3. To determine an outcome or affect it in a decisive way.
   - Simple: To control or strongly shape how something turns out.
   - _Supply and demand dictate the price of most goods._
   - _The terrain dictated the route the engineers had to follow._

## Noun

Pronunciation: say "DIK-tayt" US /ˈdɪkˌteɪt/, UK /ˈdɪkteɪt/

4. An authoritative order or command issued by someone in power.
   - Simple: An order or command that people are expected to obey.
   - _They resented every dictate handed down by the new regime._
   - _The court ignored the dictates of the ruling party._

## Origin

**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').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/dictate (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).