dictate

In the short term, the Federal Reserve sets interest rates that dictate what businesses and individuals pay to borrow money.

From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026

Investors and researchers will be watching closely to see how effective and tolerable the vaccine proves to be, as that has the potential to dictate its chances for approval and how widely it is used.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Other defensible space requirements have been on the books for decades, and dictate how homeowners must manage their yard through the spacing of trees, the removal of dead vegetation and other precautions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Federal laws, particularly the Privacy Act, dictate what data government agencies can collect, what it can be used for, how it can be shared, and how it must be protected.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

I know she’s only asking because faction rules dictate that she does.

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

“A simple rule dictates my buying,” he wrote in his annual shareholders letter in the winter of 2009.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

“Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice, without constraint.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

Thai custom dictates that the heir should be a male, but a 1974 amendment to the constitution does allow a female to take the throne.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

Rigid operational dictates cause infrastructure investment to plummet, ultimately degrading track quality and severely hurting long-term economic productivity.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026

That consideration dictates single authorship, despite all the difficulties that it poses.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

At Aston Martin, Lance Stroll finished in 13th, ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso, their positions dictated to a degree by luck under the VSC and their divergent strategies.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

For more than a quarter-century, a lawsuit settlement from a case brought in Los Angeles federal court has dictated conditions for children held in immigration detention.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

Spain dictated possession for much of the afternoon while Argentina defended stubbornly, forcing the final into extra time before the breakthrough finally came.

From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026

The government presented evidence to show how, despite having no medical training, He dictated medical practice at the company and was ultimately responsible for its nonstandard prescription practices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Our rules dictated that the girl’s choice be respected and once she had chosen her favorite, she was free to continue on her journey escorted by the lucky boy she loved.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

"To describe that as dictating is not only unfair on the Ulster Farmers' Union, it's also actually somewhat disingenuous."

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Some communities have strong cultural traditions dictating who should fill the caretaker role — in many cases, that’s the eldest daughter.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

“People seem to be obsessed with now dictating what I’ll do and when?!”

From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026

And of course, the irony is that these people who are notoriously bad at communicating themselves are the ones who are dictating how we in fact communicate to each other.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

At first Regina could handle him, but by the time Bobby reached six, he was dictating policy about his own regimen.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady