Dictate

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈdɪkËŒteɪt/

• UK IPA: /ËŒdɪkˈteɪt/
• US IPA: /ˈdɪkËŒteɪt/
• Rhymes: -eɪt

Origin

From Latin dictātus, perfect passive participle of dictō ("pronounce or declare repeatedly; dictate"), frequentative of dīcō ("say, speak").

Full definition of dictate

Noun

1. An order or command.I must obey the dictates of my conscience.

Verb

1. To order, command, control.
• 2001, Sydney I. Landau, Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography, Cambridge University Press (ISBN 0-521-78512-X), page 409,Trademark Owners will nevertheless try to dictate how their marks are to be represented, but dictionary publishers with spine can resist such pressure.
2. To speak in order for someone to write down the words.She is dictating a letter to a stenographer.The French teacher dictated a passage from Victor Hugo.

Derived terms

• dictation
• dictator