decree
Use Decree in a sentence
noun
1.
a formal and authoritative order, especially one having the force of law: a presidential decree.
2.
Law. a judicial decision or order.
3.
Theology. one of the eternal purposes of God, by which events are foreordained.
verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
4.
to command, ordain, or decide by decree.
Origin:
1275–1325; (noun) Middle English decre < Anglo-French decre, decret < Latin dēcrētum, noun use of neuter of dēcrētus, past participle of dēcernere; see decern; (v.) Middle English decreen, derivative of the noun
1275–1325; (noun) Middle English decre < Anglo-French decre, decret < Latin dēcrētum, noun use of neuter of dēcrētus, past participle of dēcernere; see decern; (v.) Middle English decreen, derivative of the noun
Related forms
pre·de·cree, verb (used with object), pre·de·creed, pre·de·cree·ing.
un·de·creed, adjective
well-de·creed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To decree
00:10
Decree
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
decree (dɪˈkriː) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | an edict, law, etc, made by someone in authority |
| 2. | decree nisi See decree absolute an order or judgment of a court made after hearing a suit, esp in matrimonial proceedings |
| —vb , decrees, decreeing, decreed | |
| 3. | to order, adjudge, or ordain by decree |
| [C14: from Old French decre, from Latin dēcrētum ordinance, from dēcrētus decided, past participle of dēcernere to determine; see | |
| de'creeable | |
| —adj | |
| de'creer | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
decree
c.1300, from O.Fr. decre, variant of decret, from L. decretum, neut. of decretus, pp. of decernere "to decree, decide, pronounce a decision," from de- + cernere "to separate" (see crisis).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
Example sentences
But in the period before the vote, the populist, leftist president would be able to rule by decree.
Grammar is subject to majority rule, not autocratic decree.
Three years on, the final land-use decree has yet to appear.
Two political parties scrambled into existence after the decree.
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