decree
Americannoun
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a formal and authoritative order, especially one having the force of law.
a presidential decree.
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Law. a judicial decision or order.
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Theology. one of the eternal purposes of God, by which events are foreordained.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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an edict, law, etc, made by someone in authority
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an order or judgment of a court made after hearing a suit, esp in matrimonial proceedings See decree nisi decree absolute
verb
Other Word Forms
- decreeable adjective
- decreer noun
- predecree verb (used with object)
- undecreed adjective
- well-decreed adjective
Etymology
Origin of decree
1275–1325; (noun) Middle English decre < Anglo-French decre, decret < Latin dēcrētum, noun use of neuter of dēcrētus, past participle of dēcernere; see decern; (v.) Middle English decreen, derivative of the noun
Explanation
Look carefully! A decree isn't something you get when you graduate. That one little letter change makes it something else altogether: a legally binding command or the announcement of such a thing. If you go back far enough, a decree referred to a decision handed down by the Roman emperor. In more modern usage, a divorce decree is the document issued by a court that terminates a marriage. And if you want to go out with someone on a date, but things keep preventing you from having the chance to ask, you could say that fate did not decree it to be so.
Vocabulary lists containing decree
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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Animal Farm
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The general call is rescinded… I await your decree.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
"This is not an anti-Muslim or anti-Islam decree," he said.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
The companies denied all the allegations and agreed to the settlement to resolve the litigation, according to the consent decree.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026
The department had been rocked by corruption scandals, one after the next, and operating under a Justice Department consent decree for over a decade.
From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026
The very next morning, Prince Faisal’s son, in person, informed me that by the will and decree of his esteemed father, I was to be a State Guest.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
