dictate
n. countablen. a rule or order that you must follow, often because of your own beliefs or a powerful authority. It is something that tells you how you should behave.
n. a guiding principle or authoritative command that prescribes a specific course of action. Often used in the plural to refer to the requirements of conscience, reason, or a governing power.
She always follows the dictates of her conscience.
The company's strategy was driven by the dictates of the market rather than the CEO's personal vision.
Philosophers have long debated whether the dictates of reason are universal or if they are shaped by the cultural environment in which an individual is raised.
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.
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”).
Commonly used in the plural form ('dictates') and frequently followed by the preposition 'of'.