DICTATES Synonyms: 46 Similar and Opposite Words

dictates 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of dictate

as in orders

to request the doing of by virtue of one's authority dictated that the terms of surrender be negotiated by his senior staff

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dictates

2 of 2

noun

plural of dictate

as in instructions

a statement of what to do that must be obeyed by those concerned a starchily worded dictate from on high concerning the company's dress code

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Recent Examples of dictates

Verb

Under the Clean Air Act, which dictates timelines for the Title V air permit renewals, the state health department should have completed it by October 2023. —

Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 9 Apr. 2026 Today’s Baroque version is popular for weddings, even if tradition dictates that the groom carries the bride up the 99 steps leading from the boat dock to the church door. —

Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 8 Apr. 2026 Sometimes, even a team’s drafting philosophy — if the draft board dictates it. —

Vic Tafur, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026 It must be built wherever the situation dictates, and it must be made quickly. —

Bruce Brady, Outdoor Life, 8 Apr. 2026 After the mission, the name proposals will be formally submitted to the International Astronomical Union, which dictates the naming of celestial bodies and the features on their surfaces. —

Francie Ebert, NBC news, 7 Apr. 2026 Remember, too, that while the conventional wisdom dictates that a new mortgage rate that's a full percentage point lower than your current one is worth pursuing, sometimes a rate that's just half a percentage point lower could also be valuable. —

Matt Richardson, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2026 This gentle wobble, known as libration, dictates the extent of the moon's south polar region that can be seen from Earth at any one time. —

Anthony Wood, Space.com, 3 Apr. 2026 On the other hand, the batting order also only dictates that first at-bat. —

Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026

Noun

The project’s financing dictates that the market-rate tower has separate ownership from the affordable segment, Kingston said. —

Nick Wooten, Dallas Morning News, 2 Apr. 2026 This cut comes with dictates—jaw-length or shorter, most often paired with bangs—but also leaves room for personalized play. —

Calin Van Paris, InStyle, 1 Apr. 2026 The girls decide to go and look for a traditional skirt for Qihuo to commemorate this rite of passage, as tradition dictates. —

Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 15 Mar. 2026 There is perhaps no sport that is more in thrall to the dictates of orthodoxy than baseball, which is so steeped in tradition that a visit to the ballpark is often a bit like hopping into a time machine. —

Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 13 Mar. 2026 Beloved ’s revenant defies the dictates of realism according to which a character is a bounded individual. —

Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2026 Local control ensures that voting reflects the needs of the community, not the dictates of a federal bureaucracy. —

Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2026 The deregulatory agenda, the most significant since President Ronald Reagan’s, has begun to liberate households and businesses from the dictates of Washington’s bureaucracy. —

Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026 The Institute for Postnatural Studies does not aim to conform to the dictates of traditional academia, as its name might imply. —

Catherine Taft, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictates

Verb

Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, supreme commander of the Luftwaffe, Hitler’s second in command, and the highest-ranking surviving Nazi leader, steps out of the car, stands at attention to announce his surrender, and orders the soldiers to carry his bags.

— Alice Kaplan, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
Although the decision orders a re-sentencing, there's a chance Peters will be handed the same sentence again.

— Chierstin Roth, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2026