Dictate
[dɪk'teɪt] or ['dɪktet]
Definition
(noun.) a guiding principle; 'the dictates of reason'.
(noun.) an authoritative rule.
(verb.) say out loud for the purpose of recording; 'He dictated a report to his secretary'.
(verb.) rule as a dictator.
Typed by Alice--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To tell or utter so that another may write down; to inspire; to compose; as, to dictate a letter to an amanuensis.
(v. t.) To say; to utter; to communicate authoritatively; to deliver (a command) to a subordinate; to declare with authority; to impose; as, to dictate the terms of a treaty; a general dictates orders to his troops.
(v. i.) To speak as a superior; to command; to impose conditions (on).
(v. i.) To compose literary works; to tell what shall be written or said by another.
(v. t.) A statement delivered with authority; an order; a command; an authoritative rule, principle, or maxim; a prescription; as, listen to the dictates of your conscience; the dictates of the gospel.
Checked by Genevieve
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Prescribe, direct, ordain, command, order, bid, require, decree.[2]. Utter (so that another may repeat or write).
n. [1]. Injunction, command, order, decree.[2]. Precept, maxim, rule.
Typist: Sanford
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Prompt, suggest, enjoin, order, direct, {[pre--crit)e]?}, pre--crit)e, decree,instruct, propose, command
ANT:Follow, repeat, obey, echo, answer
Typist: Ludwig
Definition
v.t. to tell another what to say or write: to communicate with authority: to point out: to command—(arch. Dict).—n. an order rule or direction: impulse.—ns. Dictā′tion act art or practice of dictating: overbearing command; Dictā′tor one invested for a time with absolute authority—originally an extraordinary Roman magistrate:—fem. Dictā′tress Dictātrix.—adj. Dictatō′rial like a dictator: absolute: authoritative.—adv. Dictatō′rially.—ns. Dictā′torship Dic′tature.—adj. Dic′tatory.
Typed by Ina
Examples
- 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. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- Well, no, said Sir James; I feel a delicacy in appearing to dictate. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- But, I could not allow even him to dictate to me on a point of great delicacy, on which I feel very strongly. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Over this paper place any kind of boards that the fancy of the builder may dictate, as clapboards, shiplap, or drop-siding. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- I will recline and dictate. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- It is my right to speak as I think proper; nothing binds me to converse as you dictate. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I could dictate it, though, with pleasure, to an amanuensis who suited me. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- In 1639 Galileo, then old and blind, dictated to his son one of his books in which he discussed the isochronal properties of oscillating bodies, and their adaptation as time measures. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Whether it was the heart which dictated this new system of complaisance and humility adopted by our Rebecca, is to be proved by her after-history. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- From the outset, an innate recognition of system dictated the desirability and wisdom of preserving records of his experiments and inventions. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Apart from the simple organization dictated by that common will, France was a mosaic of practically independent nobles. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- He said a man was not to be dictated to. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- He dictated again. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Emmy defended her conduct and showed that it was dictated only by the purest religious principles; that a woman once, &c. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- At immense personal sacrifice I followed the dictates of my own ingenuity, my own humanity, my own caution, and took her identity instead. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- 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. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- They have no fondness for their colts or foals, but the care they take in educating them proceeds entirely from the dictates of reason. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- He hated to think of May Welland's being exposed to the influence of a young woman so careless of the dictates of Taste. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- Why not make up our minds that we know nothing, and then, while we quietly follow the dictates of our own consciences, hope the best? Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Increase me in that wisdom which discovers my truest interest: Strengthen my resolution to perform what that wisdom dictates! Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- My mother, though highly exasperating to the feelings, is actuated by maternal dictates. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- She was by that time perseveringly dictating to Caddy, and Caddy was fast relapsing into the inky condition in which we had found her. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- I am still so weak that I have to write, as you see, by dictating. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- Mrs. Jellyby sat there all day drinking strong coffee, dictating, and holding Borrioboolan interviews by appointment. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Fancy a man dictating in this manner the time when he would sell and when he would not sell. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- If you remember,' said Carton, dictating, 'the words that passed between us, long ago, you will readily comprehend this when you see it. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Elizabeth found that nothing was beneath this great lady's attention, which could furnish her with an occasion of dictating to others. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- He sees me dictating at this moment, with my handkerchief to my eyes. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
Edited by Gillian