How to spell dictate

hear itdic·tate/dةھk'teةھt/verbSchwa and roots

What it means: To say something aloud for others to write.

In a sentence: The teacher will dictate a story for us to write down.

The part people get wrong

Often misspelled as dicdate or dictait.

Same family: dictator, dictation, dictionary, predict, verdict. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Dictate” comes from the Latin verb *dictare*, meaning “to say often” or “to declare.” It is related to other 'speaking' words like 'dictionary' (a book of words people say) and 'verdict' (what the jury says about a case).

Patterns it uses: Drop the e before a suffix?

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

emigrate · contradict · dictation · immigrate · coordinate · cooperate

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