1. Issue commands or orders for
   "The general dictated an immediate retreat";
   - order, prescribe
    
2. Rule as a dictator
   "The military general dictated the country's policies for decades"
    
3. Say out loud for the purpose of recording
   "He dictated a report to his secretary"
    
4. Determine or control what happens
   "Market forces dictate the prices"

1. An authoritative rule
   "The company operated under the dictates of its founding principles"
    
2. A guiding principle
   "the dictates of reason"

Derived forms: dictated, dictating, dictates

Type of: bring down, govern, impose, inflict, obtrude, prescript, principle, read, rule, visit

Encyclopedia: Dictate