dictate

dictate
verb
  1. [with obj.]lay down authoritatively; prescribe
    命令;规定
    the tsar's attempts to dictate policy.
    沙皇想控制决策的企图。
    [no obj.]that doesn't give you the right to dictate to me.
    这并不意味着你有权对我发号施令。
    ■[with obj.]control or decisively affect; determine
    控制;支配;决定
    choice is often dictated by availability.
    选择往往决定于是否有可能。
    [no obj.]a review process can be changed as circumstances dictate.
    审查过程可能会视具体情况的需要而有所改变。
  2. say or read aloud (words to be typed, written down, or recorded on tape)
    口授
    I have four letters to dictate.
    我有四封信要口授。
noun
  1. (一般作 dictates)an order or principle that must be obeyed
    命令;(必须遵循的)原则;(必须达到的)标准
    the dictates of fashion.
    时尚的规则。
语源
  1. late 16th cent. (in sense 2): from Latin dictat- 'dictated', from the verb dictare
英语宝典
考试词汇表