diktat

See also: Diktat and diktát

English

Etymology

Borrowed from German Diktat, from Latin dictātum (“that which has been dictated”), from the perfect passive participle of dictō (“dictate”). Doublet of dictate.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɒt
• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪkˈtɑːt/, /ˈdɪktɑːt/, /ˈdɪktæt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /dɪkˈtɑt/

Noun

diktat (plural diktats)

1. a harsh penalty or settlement imposed upon a defeated party by the victor
2. a dogmatic decree or command, especially issued by one who rules without popular consent

   Synonym: ukase

   • 1964 May, “News and Comment: Minister hamstrings BR workshops”, in Modern Railways, page 291:

     Whatever the pressures that have invoked the Minister's diktat, the outcome is Gilbertian.

   • 1982, Steven L. Sampson, The Planners and the Peasants:

     Today, regional diktat is now supplemented (though not wholly replaced) by other means of recruiting elites.

   • 2005, Vitaly Naumkin, Radical Islam in Central Asia: Between Pen and Rifle, page 179:

     It should be noted that Saddam's power was held up by fear and diktat.

   • 2018, Julian Sanchez, “Brand Loyalty”, in Just Security:

     Trump—according not to the paranoid fears of his opponents, but his own professed desires—would have the government’s law enforcement institutions act as political weapons, aimed by his diktat.

   • 2022 March 30, “It's 1 a.m. on Thursday in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know”, in CNN‎:

     He added that “the issues are still the same” and that Russian President Putin “still wishes to impose his diktat on Ukraine.”

   • 2025 April 17, Linda Feldmann, “How Donald Trump is upending American culture”, in The Christian Science Monitor‎, archived from the original on 20 April 2025:

     But amid all the disruption and norm-breaking, it’s Mr. Trump’s apparently keen interest in shaping American culture that may be most intriguing. To critics, it’s nothing less than a sign of his authoritarian bent – reminiscent of the Stalin-esque playbook that made government diktats over artistic expression a feature of the old Soviet Union.

   • 2025 July 26, Chris Lau and Joyce Jiang, “Joking about her abusive husband launched this Chinese comedian to stardom. The authorities aren’t laughing”, in CNN‎:

     Traditional social codes can sometimes prove as strict as any government diktat. Late last year, Chinese e-commerce giant JD faced a boycott by customers infuriated by its casting of trailblazing woman comedian Yang Li in a promotional live stream.

Translations

harsh settlement

German: Diktat (de) n, Friedensdiktat (de) n, Diktatfrieden (de) m Hungarian: békediktátum (hu) Polish: dyktat (pl) m Russian: диктат (ru) m (diktat) Ukrainian: диктат m (dyktat)

authoritarian decree

German: Diktat (de) n Hungarian: diktátum (hu), ukáz (hu) Polish: ukaz (pl) m Russian: диктат (ru) m (diktat) Ukrainian: диктат m (dyktat)

See also

• dictate

French

Alternative forms

• dictat

Pronunciation

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Noun

diktat m (plural diktats)

1. diktat

Descendants

• → Turkish: dikta

Further reading

• “diktat”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch dictaat, from Latin dictātum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdɪktat]
• Hyphenation: dik‧tat

Noun

diktat

1. dictated text
2. prepared text
3. (extension) note, a brief piece of writing intended to assist the memory; a memorandum; a minute
4. (education) lecture note

Further reading

• “diktat” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin dictātum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪkˈtɑːt/

Noun

diktat m (definite singular diktaten, indefinite plural diktater, definite plural diktatene)

1. dictation, dictating
2. a text which is written after hearing
3. (education) an orthography exam in which students write down what the teacher says

diktat n (definite singular diktatet, uncountable)

1. something which is dictated; orders

Related terms

• dikt
• diktere

References

• “diktat” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Latin dictātum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪkˈtɑːt/

Noun

diktat m (definite singular diktaten, indefinite plural diktatar, definite plural diktatane)

1. dictation, dictating
2. a text which is written after hearing
3. (education) an orthography exam in which students write down what the teacher says

diktat n (definite singular diktatet, uncountable)

1. something which is dictated; orders

Related terms

• dikt
• diktere

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²dɪk.tɑ(t)/

Verb

diktat

1. supine of dikta
   • 1861, Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Ferdaminni fraa Sumaren 1860, volume II, page 30:

     Kvat er det ikki for Usans Wergeland hever diktat um Konge og Dronning?

     What kind of nonsense is it not that Wergeland has versified about King and Queen?

References

• “diktat” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

dìktāt m inan (Cyrillic spelling дѝкта̄т)

1. dictate

Declension

Declension of diktat

	singular	plural
nominative	dìktāt	diktati
genitive	diktáta	diktata
dative	diktatu	diktatima
accusative	diktat	diktate
vocative	diktate	diktati
locative	diktatu	diktatima
instrumental	diktatom	diktatima

Spanish

Noun

diktat m (plural diktats)

1. diktat

Swedish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin dictātum, from dictāre. Cognate with English dictate, German Diktat, French dictée.

Noun

diktat n

1. diktat

Declension

Declension of diktat

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	diktat	diktats
	definite	diktatet	diktatets
plural	indefinite	diktat	diktats
	definite	diktaten	diktatens

Related terms

• diktera
• diktator
• diktatur

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

diktat

1. supine of dikta

Adjective

diktat

1. indefinite neuter singular of diktad