DICTATE

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does dictate mean? 

• DICTATE (noun)
  The noun DICTATE has 2 senses:

1. an authoritative rule

2. a guiding principle

  Familiarity information: DICTATE used as a noun is rare.

• DICTATE (verb)
  The verb DICTATE has 3 senses:

1. issue commands or orders for

2. say out loud for the purpose of recording

3. rule as a dictator

  Familiarity information: DICTATE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DICTATE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An authoritative rule

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("dictate" is a kind of...):

prescript; rule (prescribed guide for conduct or action)

Derivation:

dictate (issue commands or orders for)

dictate (rule as a dictator)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A guiding principle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

the dictates of reason

Hypernyms ("dictate" is a kind of...):

principle (a basic truth or law or assumption)

Derivation:

dictate (issue commands or orders for)

• DICTATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they dictate ... he / she / it dictates
Past simple: dictated   
Past participle: dictated   
-ing form: dictating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Issue commands or orders for

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

dictate; order; prescribe

Hypernyms (to "dictate" is one way to...):

bring down; impose; inflict; visit (impose something unpleasant)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "dictate"):

mandate (make mandatory)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s to somebody

Derivation:

dictate (a guiding principle)

dictate (an authoritative rule)

dictation (an authoritative direction or instruction to do something)

dictator (a person who behaves in a tyrannical manner)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Say out loud for the purpose of recording

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

He dictated a report to his secretary

Hypernyms (to "dictate" is one way to...):

read (look at, interpret, and say out loud something that is written or printed)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

dictation (matter that has been dictated and transcribed; a dictated passage)

dictation (speech intended for reproduction in writing)

dictator (a speaker who dictates to a secretary or a recording machine)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Rule as a dictator

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "dictate" is one way to...):

govern; rule (exercise authority over; as of nations)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "dictate"):

grind down; tyrannise; tyrannize (rule a country as a tyrant)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

dictate (an authoritative rule)

dictation (an authoritative direction or instruction to do something)

dictator (a ruler who is unconstrained by law)

 Context examples 

If you are ready we will start at once for Woking, and see this diplomatist who is in such evil case, and the lady to whom he dictates his letters.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Also, it was a dictate of his pride.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

You must therefore allow me to follow the dictates of my conscience on this occasion, which leads me to perform what I look on as a point of duty.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

I'm afraid it's impossible, Jo. Aunt says Amy, decidedly, and it is not for us to dictate when she offers such a favor.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

He said a man was not to be dictated to.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

What I mean is that it was the face of a man who either did nothing contrary to the dictates of his conscience, or who had no conscience.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

You might feel some pressure from the in-laws or a step-relative to follow a dictate you don’t believe is fair.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Do not suppose, however, that I wish to dictate happiness to you or that a delay on your part would cause me any serious uneasiness.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

“And now one word more: it was Hyde who dictated the terms in your will about that disappearance?”

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The size of the lesion as well as the grade and the clearance margins play a major role in dictating the most appropriate therapy for DCIS.

(Ductal Breast Carcinoma In Situ, NCI Thesaurus)