verb

dictate

DIHK-tayt

verb

To say words aloud for someone else to write down.

"The executive dictated a memo to her assistant."

"He dictated the letter while pacing around the office."

To give orders or lay down terms with authority, often unfairly.

"The manager tried to dictate how everyone should spend their lunch break."

"No country should be able to dictate policy to another."

noun

An authoritative command or requirement.

"They followed the dictates of tradition without question."

How to Use Dictate

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo speak so someone else writes it down, or to order people around with authority.

Common pairings

dictate a letter dictate terms the dictates of conscience

dictated past tense, dictates plural, dictates singular

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Can you complete this real example?

The executive _____ a memo to her assistant.

From Latin dictatum, "something dictated," rooted in dico, "to say" — the same root gives us "diction" and "dictionary."

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