dictated but not read

1 8.7

Prepared while someone speaks the words and not checked by the writer, often containing mistakes

idiom

Formal

: dictado pero no leído

She signed the report, which was dictated but not read, and only noticed the mistakes after it was sent.

Examples

Many official letters in the archive are marked as dictated but not read by the original sender.
The memo was clearly dictated but not read, as it was filled with errors and inconsistencies.
The report was dictated but not read before submission.
I hope my letter isn't dictated but not read this time!
The memo was dictated but not read, so there were several mistakes in it.
Because the report was dictated but not read, it lacked important details.
The lawyer submitted a document that was dictated but not read, which led to confusion.

Antonyms

review

490 3.0

A check by a doctor to see progress or problems

edited

1.6

Changed to make a text or film clearer and more correct

Surface Forms

dictated but not read positive

Morphology

dictate + but + not + read

The phrase literally contrasts two actions: something was 'dictated' (spoken for someone to write) and 'not read' (not examined), so a learner who knows those words and basic grammar can infer it was prepared by dictation and not reviewed. The construction follows a transparent compositional pattern (past participle + contrastive 'but not') that is cross-linguistically common, making the meaning accessible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Dictated but not read comes from old office practice where a manager would dictate a letter to a secretary but then not read the finished page before signing it. That image of a signed paper that was not checked explains why the phrase now means 'handled with little care' and often suggests the document may have mistakes.