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dictates
1 dictionary results for: dictates
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
dic·tate     (dĭk'tāt', dĭk-tāt')  Pronunciation Key 
v.   dic·tat·ed, dic·tat·ing, dic·tates

v.   tr.
  1. To say or read aloud to be recorded or written by another: dictate a letter.
    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).
v.   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.
n.   (dĭk'tāt')
  1. A directive; a command.
  2. A guiding principle: followed the dictates of my conscience.

[Latin dictāre, dictāt-, frequentative of dīcere, to say; see deik- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: 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 © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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