v., -tat·ed, -tat·ing, -tates. v.tr.
- To say or read aloud to be recorded or written by another: dictate a letter.
- To prescribe with authority; impose: dictated the rules of the game.
- To control or command: "Foreign leaders were . . . dictated by their own circumstances, bound by the universal imperatives of politics" (Doris Kearns Goodwin).
- To say or read aloud material to be recorded or written by another: dictated for an hour before leaving for the day.
- To issue orders or commands.
- A directive; a command.
- A guiding principle: followed the dictates of my conscience.
[Latin dictāre, dictāt-, frequentative of dīcere, to say.]
SYNONYMS dictate, decree, impose, ordain, prescribe. These verbs mean to set forth expressly and authoritatively: victors dictating the terms of surrender; martial law decreed by the governor; impose obedience; a separation seemingly ordained by fate; taxes prescribed by law.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
