What does "dictate" mean?

1. (to speak for transcription) to say words out loud so that another person can write them down or a machine can record them. 2. (to command or control) to tell someone exactly what they must do in a firm or bossy way. 3. (to determine or influence) to control or influence how something happens. 4. (a rule or command) a rule or principle that you feel you must follow.

dictate

v. · n.

US //ˈdɪkˌteɪt// dic·tate

1 to speak for transcription (v.)
B1 Intermediate

to say words out loud so that another person can write them down or a machine can record them.

to utter words aloud for another person or a device to transcribe. Transitive or intransitive use.

Example

The manager sat at her desk to dictate a formal letter to her assistant.

Example

Before the advent of modern email, executives would frequently dictate their entire daily correspondence to a stenographer for later typing.
- read out
- recite
- transcribe
- write
2 to command or control (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

to tell someone exactly what they must do in a firm or bossy way.

to give orders authoritatively or dogmatically. Often implies an imbalance of power or an overbearing manner.

Example

You cannot dictate how I spend my own money.

Example

The occupying force attempted to dictate every aspect of local life, from market prices to evening curfews.
- obey
- follow

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3 to determine or influence (v.)
C1 Advanced Academic

to control or influence how something happens.

to determine or decisively affect the nature or outcome of a situation.

Example

Common sense should dictate that you wear a coat in the snow.

Example

Market forces usually dictate the price of goods, regardless of what the manufacturers might prefer to charge.
4 a rule or command (n.)
C1 Advanced Formal

a rule or principle that you feel you must follow.

a guiding principle or an authoritative order that must be obeyed.

Example

He chose to follow the dictates of his own conscience rather than the law.

Example

The diplomat found it increasingly difficult to reconcile his personal ethics with the strict dictates of his government's foreign policy.

Etymology 1

First attested in 1581; borrowed from Latin dictātum (“a thing said, something dictated”), substantivized from the nominative neuter singular of dictātus, the perfect passive participle of dictō (“pronounce or declare repeatedly; dictate”), frequentative of dīcō (“say, speak”). Doublet of diktat.

Etymology 2

First attested in 1577; borrowed from Latin dictātus, perfect passive participle of dictō (“to pronounce or declare repeatedly; to dictate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), frequentative of dīcō (“say, speak”).