How to Use dictate to in a Sentence

dictate to

verb
  • No one dictates to us what to do.
    — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 11 Jan. 2026
  • Ukraine does not dictate to any other people how to teach its history.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 20 June 2026
  • And also we Southerners have never let a little sugar dictate to us where on the menu a dish should go.
    — Jasmine Smith, Southern Living, 1 Apr. 2026
  • In an apology letter dictated to the court by his lawyer, Jenkins said speaking to children is the most fulfilling part of his life now.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 16 Aug. 2025
  • Rather than negotiations, the terms were dictated to Germany.
    — Pamela Avila, CNN Money, 18 June 2026
  • They will not be dictated to without far richer incentives, protections, or more sustained pressure than a single special forces operation can provide.
    — Dewardric L. McNeal, CNBC, 11 Jan. 2026
  • During the hearing in the Senate Education committee, some parents and former teachers said the bill doesn’t serve a purpose and dictates to schools how time must be spent.
    — Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 11 Mar. 2026
  • His words are believed to have been dictated to his son Jan, surviving both World War II and subsequent communist rule.
    — Jay Ganglani, NBC news, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Turkish pro-government media celebrated it as an assertion of sovereignty, proof that Ankara would not be dictated to by Washington.
    — Bobby Ghosh, Time, 22 Dec. 2025
  • The sous chef, Andy Kennedy, is in touch with the nutritionists from both teams well in advance of games, although in an advisory capacity rather than menus being dictated to him.
    — Nick Miller, New York Times, 6 June 2026
  • Both Russia and China dictate to their neighbors and seek veto power over other nations’ decisions about security, diplomacy, and trade.
    — Bill Weld, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2019
  • Austria retained possession of Venetia, and prudence dictated to the delegates at the Congress of Vienna that continued Austrian predominance in Italy should guarantee the peninsula against French influence.
    — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Mar. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dictate to.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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