0 present participle of dictate
1 to give orders, or tell someone exactly what they must do, with total authority:
The UN will dictate the terms of troop withdrawal from the region.
[ + question word ] He disagrees with the government dictating what children are taught in schools.
[ + that ] The rules dictate that only running shoes must be worn on the track.
The party's change of policy has been dictated by its need to win back younger voters.
[ + that ] I wanted to take a year off, but my financial situation dictated that I got a job.
2 to speak something aloud for a person or machine to record what is said, so that it can be written down:
Many people feel they must do whatever their doctor dictates, and never question the advice they are given.
After dictating what is to be done, she then leaves her husband to do all the work!
When I went to the hairdresser, my mum just dictated how it was to be cut.
He shouldn't be allowed to dictate all the terms and conditions - it's supposed to be a democratic decision.
And there is some evidence that the regional insurance funds created by the new law were now dictating policy to hospitals.
They do so by imposing rules dictating the individual steps in the interaction and the information revealed by the agents during the interaction.
However, it is difficult to follow the logic dictating the ordering of the essays in the volume.
Each culture evolves a set of imperatives dictating the correct responses of its members in any given pain situation.
