dictate

(dĭkˈtātˌ, dĭk-tātˈ)

1. To say or read aloud to be recorded or written by another: dictate a letter.
2. a. To prescribe with authority; impose: dictated the rules of the game.
   b. To control or command: “Foreign leaders were . . . dictated by their own circumstances, bound by the universal imperatives of politics” (Doris Kearns Goodwin).

1. To say or read aloud material to be recorded or written by another: dictated for an hour before leaving for the day.
2. To issue orders or commands.

1. A directive; a command.
2. A guiding principle: followed the dictates of my conscience.