dictate has definitions from the field of politics
1
[ verb ] issue commands or orders for

Synonyms

prescribe order

Used in print

(Richard F. McLaughlin, et al., "A study of the...)

Within certain wide limits anatomy dictates function and , if one is permitted to speculate , potential pathology should be included in this statement as_well .

(Douglas Ashford, "Elections in Morocco: Progress...)

The choice of the single member district was dictated to a certain extent by problems of communication and understanding in the more remote areas of the country , but it also served to minimize the national political value of the elections .

2
[ noun ] a guiding principle

Examples

: "the dictates of reason"

Used in print

(Joyce O. Hertzler, American Social Institutions;...)

Among primitive peoples the sanctions and dictates of religion were more binding than any of the other controls exercised by the group ; and in modern societies such influence is still great .

Related terms

principle order

3
[ verb ] say out loud for the purpose of recording

Examples

"He dictated a report to his secretary"

Used in print

(Bell I. Wiley, "Home Letters of Johnny Reb and Billy...)

Sometimes these servants wrote or dictated for enclosure with the letters of their soldier masters messages to their relatives and to members of their owners ' families .

Related terms

read dictator

4
[ noun ] an authoritative rule

Used in print

(R. F. Shaw, "The `Private Eye`"...)

At_the_same_time , because the personal code of the detective coincides with the legal dictates of his society , because he likes to catch criminals , he is in middle_class eyes a virtuous man .

Related terms

rule

5
[ verb ] (politics) rule as a dictator

Related terms

govern tyrannize dictator

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