dictate Meaning, Definition & Usage

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

L. dictatus, p. p. of dictare, freq. of dicere to say. See Diction, and cf. Dight.

imperfect & past participle Dictated; present participle & verbal noun Dictating

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.
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.

To speak as a superior; to command; to impose conditions (on).
Who presumed to dictate to the sovereign. Macaulay.
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.

L. dictatum. See Dictate, v. t.

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.