ruling by decree
- noun
- Formal
:
gobernar por decreto
- The opposition accuse him of ruling by decree to bypass votes on the new mandates in Congress.
The opposition accuse him of ruling by decree to bypass votes on the new mandates in Congress.
- The opposition accuse him of ruling by decree to bypass votes on the new mandates in Congress.
Examples
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The president's ruling by decree allowed him to implement new laws without legislative approval.
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Ruling by decree during the emergency gave the government extraordinary powers to act swiftly.
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And he tried to undercut the judiciary, effectively circumventing a court ruling by decree, except that President Napolitano of Italy refused to cooperate.
Blog text (8) -
Critics argue that ruling by decree undermines democratic processes and shifts power to the executive.
Synonyms
34
8.5
An official order that a government or person in power gives
7
5.0
A choice made by a senior leader without asking other people
A choice one person makes without asking others while having full control
Antonyms
How Autocratic
157
4.8
5
7.4
- Formal
7
5.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase composes transparently: 'rule' (to govern) + 'by' (by means of) + 'decree' (a formal legal order) yields governing using decrees. This agent+means pattern is common cross-linguistically (e.g. Spanish 'gobernar por decreto'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Ruling by decree comes from the image of a single leader writing an official order called a decree and sending it out without asking anyone else. So, it means 'to govern alone' or make decisions without a parliament.