1. The pronunciation of words that are to be written down: The teacher checked over the dictation once more to make sure that her English students would be able to understand everything when it was read aloud to them.
2. The activity of taking down a passage that is presented by a teacher as a test of spelling, writing, or language skills: The dictation was presented orally by Mrs. Smith because she had to see how well the students in her class studied their vocabulary lesson!
3. An arbitrary command; the exercise of absolutism: The dictations of her common sense told Sharon to leave the violent area at once!
4. The action of giving orders authoritatively or categorically: The dictations given by the leader of the tour were very strict and left the participants wondering if they were in the right group!