dictum
6
8.1
- noun
- /ˈdɪktəm/
- Formal
:
dictamen
- I don't know, but you know, Lord Acton's famous dictum was power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
- a famous dictum
- violate the dictum
- follow the dictum
They're invited to comply with the dictum Know thyself.
- They're invited to comply with the dictum Know thyself.
- She concluded by saying let those who believe in power politics remember Bismarck's dictum.
- And secondly, and I can say it is a dictum, the world reveals itself to those who travel on foot.
- I don't know, but you know, Lord Acton's famous dictum was power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
- And Ross would be particularly receptive to Martin Luther King's dictum that, you know, the law can't actually make a man love me.
- If I may reverse Marx's famous dictum, it's as if this building were constructed by the B and not the architect.
- Yet boys life experience reinforces the dictum that it is not.
- So This is why we've got this dictum here.
- And then you, you summon your mind to the old dictum a lot, a continuum.
- and so the deeper meaning of the ancient dictum of going probably back to the fast.
Examples
-
Yet one is reminded of Paul Claudel's dictum that God writes straight, but with little crooked lines.
Academic text (1994) -
Contemporary liberalism has taken Mill's dictum, "trade is a social act," and carried it to an extreme.
Academic text (1993) -
The old dictum about the importance of practice, practice and practice turns out to be correct.
-
We notice here the form of the dictum as much as its content.
Academic text (2001) -
But it has become, you know, basically the dictum of economists and politicians.
-
You may have heard the military dictum for the gathering of armies March to the sound of the guns.
-
Consider Andy Warhol's dictum: "Art is what you can get away with."
Academic text (2008) -
I hope as you climb the ladder of success, you'll always remember the dictum from those to whom much is given, much is expected.
-
They're invited to comply with the dictum Know thyself.
-
The professor's dictum that knowledge is power inspired many of his students.
Synonyms
34
7.2
A statement that a person in power announces to the public
15
5.5
A short, well-known saying that gives a general rule for life
13
5.7
A rule or principle you must follow
9
7.4
A short, clever saying that shows a general truth
Idioms
- Literature
A humorous saying that Latin words sound more important
Compounds
- Jargon
A judge's comment in a court opinion that is not part of the decision and is not legally binding
How Authoritative
- Formal
80
5.7
- Formal
27
7.2
- Formal
6
8.1
- Formal
34
7.2
- Formal
∞
1.3
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Etymology
Dictum comes from the Latin dicere, meaning 'to say', and is related to words like dictate and dictionary. So a dictum is literally a 'said' statement and usually means a formal or official statement.