Definition of dictate

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dic·tate    (dktt, dk-tt) KEY 

VERB:
dic·tat·ed, dic·tat·ing, dic·tates
VERB:
tr.

1. To say or read aloud to be recorded or written by another: dictate a letter.
2. 1. To prescribe with authority; impose: dictated the rules of the game.
   2. To control or command: "Foreign leaders were . . . dictated by their own circumstances, bound by the universal imperatives of politics" (Doris Kearns Goodwin).

VERB:
intr.

1. To say or read aloud material to be recorded or written by another: dictated for an hour before leaving for the day.
2. To issue orders or commands.

NOUN:
(dktt)

1. A directive; a command.
2. A guiding principle: followed the dictates of my conscience.

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ETYMOLOGY:
Latin dictre, dictt- frequentative of dcere, to say; see deik- in Indo-European roots

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.