0 to give orders, or tell someone exactly what they must do, with total authority -- 命令，下（令）；決定，規定
The UN will dictate the terms of troop withdrawal from the region. 聯合國將決定軍隊從該地區撤軍的條件。
[ + question word ] He disagrees with the government dictating what children are taught in schools. 他不同意由政府來決定孩子在學校學習哪些課程。
[ + that ] The rules dictate that only running shoes must be worn on the track. 規則規定跑道上只能穿跑鞋。
The party's change of policy has been dictated by its need to win back younger voters. 該黨政策上的變化是由於需要贏回年輕選民的支持。
[ + that ] I wanted to take a year off, but my financial situation dictated that I got a job. 我想休息一年，但我的經濟狀況迫使我必須工作。
1 to speak something aloud for a person or machine to record what is said, so that it can be written down -- 口述，口授
2 an order that should be obeyed, often one that you give to yourself -- 命令；（對自身的）要求
the dictates of conscience/common sense 良心／情理的驅使
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.
Emulation of foreign models was always tempered by patriotic priorities and the dictates of local circumstances, necessarily resulting in intellectual hybridity.
What is certain is that in cases where judiciary is true to the dictates of its law, the extra-judicial sphere gets activated.
They do so by imposing rules dictating the individual steps in the interaction and the information revealed by the agents during the interaction.
The paper noted that educational reforms in the country are dictated down from the authorities with little input from the public at large.
