diktat

noun

dik·​tat dik-ˈtät 

1

: a harsh settlement unilaterally imposed (as on a defeated nation)

2

: decree, order

Did you know?

In diktat you might recognize the English word dictate. Both words derive from Latin dictare ("to assert" or "to dictate"), a form of dicere ("to say"). Diktat passed through German where it meant "something dictated." Dictate can mean both "to speak words aloud to be transcribed" and "to issue a command or injunction," the sense of the word that gave us dictator. Germans, beginning with Prince Wilhelm, used diktat in a negative way to refer to the Treaty of Versailles, the document ending World War I. Today diktat can be used as a critical term for even minor regulations felt to be unfair or authoritarian.

Synonyms

• decree
• edict
• ruling
• directive
• decision

Examples of diktat in a Sentence

The company president issued a diktat that employees may not wear jeans to work.

a democratic government has to be something wanted by that nation's citizens and not something created by a foreign power's diktat

Recent Examples on the Web

Vision statements and culture values aren’t diktats. —Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025

Superman’s meh international returns can also be understood as reflective of the worldwide audience tiring of Hollywood’s cultural diktats. —Chris Lee, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2025

Traditional social codes can sometimes prove as strict as any government diktat. —Chris Lau, CNN Money, 27 July 2025

Even as his company’s success grew, Lauder would listen and question more than issue diktats. —Pete Born, Footwear News, 15 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Diktat "imposition, command," borrowed from Medieval Latin dictātum — more at dictate entry 2

First Known Use

1933, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for diktat

• begat
• bobcat
• chitchat
• doormat
• ducat
• eclat
• format
• hazmat
• muskrat
• nonfat
• polecat
• thereat

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!