Word
mandate
Phoneticsman·date
/ˈmænˌdeɪt/
Definitions
01authority from voters
n. the authority given to an elected group or person to carry out their promises because they won an election.
n. the authority to carry out a policy or course of action, regarded as given by the electorate to a candidate or party that is victorious in an election.
“The president claimed a clear mandate from the people to change the tax laws.”
“With a landslide victory, the prime minister argued that the government held a democratic mandate to implement the controversial environmental reforms.”
Usage
Often used with the preposition 'to' followed by an infinitive verb.
02an official order
n. an official or legal order to do something.
n. an official order or commission to do something; a judicial command or precept.
“The court issued a mandate requiring the company to stop its operations.”
“The agency's mandate was expanded by the legislature to include the oversight of all regional water treatment facilities.”
Formal
Usage
In legal contexts, it functions as a countable noun referring to a specific document or decree.
Synonyms
03to make mandatory
v. to make something a requirement or to give someone the official power to do something.
v. to give an official instruction or command; to make a particular activity or behavior compulsory by law or regulation.
“The new law will mandate that all citizens wear seatbelts in the back of the car.”
“Federal regulations mandate that all commercial aircraft undergo rigorous safety inspections after a specified number of flight hours.”
Usage
Commonly followed by a 'that' clause or a direct object.
04historical territory control
n. a commission from the League of Nations to a country to govern a specific territory.
n. an authorization granted by the League of Nations to a member nation to govern a former German or Turkish colony.
“After the war, the region was governed under a British mandate.”
“The historical study examines the administrative challenges faced during the French mandate in Syria and Lebanon following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.”
Formal · Archaic
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“UNIFIL’s mandate in southern Lebanon is due to expire at the end of this year amid international debate over the force’s future and mission.” “No country mandates that employers offer paid time off after the death of a pet.” “She has also aligned with the MAHA movement in fighting government mandates and questioning the safety of some vaccines.” Etymology
First attested in 1521; borrowed from Latin mandātum (“a charge, order, command, commission, injunction”), substantivized from the neuter forms of mandātus, perfect passive participle of mandō (“to commit to one's charge, order, command, commission, literally to put into one's hands”) (see -ate (noun-forming suffix)), from manus (“hand”) + -dere (“to put”). Sense 3 in Canadian English is likely a semantic loan from French mandat.
First attested in 1623; partly directly borrowed from Latin mandātus (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more), partly from the above noun by metanalysis.
From man + date.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/mandate