as in principle
formal
a statement or well-known remark that expresses an important idea, observation, or opinion
A doctor must follow the dictum of "First, do no harm."
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Recent Examples of dictum
The majority opinion in Pierce v. Society of Sisters of the Holy Name of Jesus and Mary included a now-famous dictum about parents’ rights to shape their children’s upbringing.
—
Charles J. Russo, The Conversation, 5 June 2025
At a Vanity Fair party, Diddy admonished Nash because Cassie’s hair was not in keeping with his dictum.
—Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 28 May 2025
Those organizing in opposition to pipelines in South Dakota, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Rhode Island carry the dictum on their lips.
—Elizabeth Rush, The Atlantic, 26 May 2025
Ultimately, the old dictum still stands – Garbage in, garbage out.
—Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictum
Charles J. Russo, The Conversation, 5 June 2025
At a Vanity Fair party, Diddy admonished Nash because Cassie’s hair was not in keeping with his dictum.
—Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 28 May 2025
Those organizing in opposition to pipelines in South Dakota, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Rhode Island carry the dictum on their lips.
—Elizabeth Rush, The Atlantic, 26 May 2025
Ultimately, the old dictum still stands – Garbage in, garbage out.
—Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dictum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dictum
Noun
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Barton gave the jury the impression of a man prepared to go into daily combat on numerous fronts, constantly fighting one battle after another, in service of his principles.—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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To address the challenges at hand, a measured approach is needed, grounded in the basic principle of respect for human rights, as declared by the UN Human Rights Commission at Colombia’s request in July 2023.—
Gustavo Petro,
Time,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Under the rule, the agency could ask for facial images, iris scans, finger and palm prints, voice prints and even DNA.—
Jude Joffe-Block,
NPR,
8 Nov. 2025
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Students already in medical school who have taken out federal loans before the new rules take effect on July 1 will be exempted from the cap.—
Tribune News Service,
Oc Register,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The ‘major questions’ doctrine, a principle way to interpret statutes, prevents Congress from hiding major powers in insignificant laws.—
Morgan Chalfant,
semafor.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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But Sauer argued that the doctrine doesn’t hold with regard to foreign affairs, where the President has some inherent constitutional authority.—
Jeannie Suk Gersen,
New Yorker,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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These shows were built around heady concepts like a sequence, an axiom or the work of Pablo Picasso.—
Heather Bushman,
IndyStar,
17 Nov. 2025
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His preference would be to find simpler axioms for quantum mechanics — intuitive principles that would let theorists re-derive the theory in a new form altogether.—
Daniel Garisto,
Quanta Magazine,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The township is arguing that state law regarding government employee protections against lawsuits conflicts with federal court rulings.—
Laura A. Bischoff,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Jan. 2026
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Scott Venable, lead pastor of Northwood Church in Keller, said the city has never been at risk of being governed by sharia or any other foreign laws.—
Fousia Abdullahi,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Throughout the spring and deep into training camp, Williams felt the flames of Johnson’s intensity almost on an hourly basis.—
Dan Wiederer,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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But the department has argued the sheer volume of documents that need to be found, uploaded, reviewed, redacted and published has forced it to instead release the files online on a rolling basis, with a series of enormous document dumps over the course of several days in mid-December.—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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That medical maxim, taught to physicians for ages, would serve Florida well if the Legislature were to adopt it.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Jan. 2026
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Lobby or be lobbied over is a maxim local governments continue bringing to the table today.—
Andrew Graham,
Sacbee.com,
22 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dictum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dictum. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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