mandate

noun

An official or authoritative command; an order or injunction; a commission; a judicial precept; an authorization.

(politics) The order or authority to do something, as granted to a politician by the electorate.

(Canada) A period during which a government is in power.

(uncommon) Alternative form of man date: a date between two men. [(colloquial) A platonic outing by two (typically straight) men, often in settings that would otherwise be reserved for romantic encounters.]

(historical) An order by the League of Nations to a member nation to establish a government responsible for a conquered territory, as the colonies of Germany after World War I.

(historical) Such a territory.

verb

To (officially) require someone to do something or act in a certain way, to give them the authority to do so; to command.

To make mandatory.

To administer or assign a territory to a nation under a mandate.

(Scotland, especially Christianity) To repeat, rehearse sermons or speeches aloud.

Roots

manusman- · Latin · hand do-dat · Latin · give, put

Synonyms for mandate

authorizationn mandatoryadj decreen authorityn jurisdictionn injunctionn writn mandamusn trusteeshipn behestn commissionn

Synonyms & related words for mandate

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of mandate — including authorization, mandatory, decree, authority, jurisdiction, injunction. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to mandate

Explore words related to mandate — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include directive, reauthorization, statutable, legislated, enjoinment, ukase, enjoinder, requirement. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for mandate

Common synonyms for mandate include authorization, mandatory, decree, authority, jurisdiction, injunction, writ, mandamus — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does mandate come from?

The word mandate breaks down into 2 roots of Latin origin: man-, from Latin manus (“hand”); and -dat, from Latin do (“give, put”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.