dictate to

phrasal verb

dictated to; dictating to; dictates to

: to give orders to (someone)

—usually used as (be) dictated to

I resent being dictated to by someone with half my experience.

Examples of dictate to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Americans do not like to have their major decisions dictated to them. —Casey B. Mulligan, National Review, 25 Sep. 2024

Still, Hoffman’s demanding and radical view of documentary filmmaking and its inherent contrivances was artistically fruitful, not as a dictate to other filmmakers but a guiding light for his own work. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2024

The Pentagon needs to work with, not dictate to, the private sector. —William J. Burns, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024

Scott Hanselman, a Microsoft vice president who looks after its global developer community, says that in the pre-Nadella era, Microsoft had a reputation for dictating to developers and forcing them to use the company’s entire tech stack. —Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 20 May 2024

Still, the perception that European powers are dictating to their governments stings. —Patricia Cohen Jes Aznar, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024

The main message is: don’t let other people dictate to you how to live your life. —Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2024

My view is: People ought to be allowed to live their lives, without a great Social Engineer hanging over them, and dictating to them. —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 3 Jan. 2024

Elliott urged the board to create a world-class school district and not be dictated to by others on how to be adequate. —Cynthia Howell, arkansasonline.com, 10 Nov. 2023