Definition of MANDATE
an authoritative command; especially : a formal order from a superior court or official to an inferior one… See the full definition
mandate
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man·date
|
Definition of
mandate
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
:
an authoritative command
especially
:
a formal order from a
superior court
or official to an inferior one
2
:
an authorization to act given to a representative
accepted the
mandate
of the people
3
a
:
an order or
commission
granted by the League of Nations to a member nation for the establishment of a responsible government over a former German colony or other conquered territory
b
:
a mandated territory
mandate
man·date
|
mandated
;
mandating
Definition of
mandate
(Entry 2 of 2)
1
:
to administer or assign (something, such as a territory) under a
mandate
2
:
to officially require (something)
:
make (something)
mandatory
:
order
a law
mandating
recycling
also
:
to direct or require (someone) to do something
a commission
mandated
to investigate corruption
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Synonyms for
mandate
Synonyms: Noun
,
,
,
,
,
(
or
)
Synonyms: Verb
,
,
,
,
,
,
When Should You Use
mandate
?
A mandate from a leader is a command you can’t refuse. But that kind of personal command is rarely the meaning of
mandate
today; much more common are connected with institutions. Thus, the Clean Air Act was a mandate from Congress to clean up air pollution—and since
mandate
is also a verb, we could say instead that the Clear Air Act
mandated
new restrictions on air pollution. Elections are often interpreted as mandates from the public for certain kinds of action. But since a politician is not just a symbol of certain policies but also an individual who might happen to have an awfully nice smile, it can be risky to interpret most elections as mandating anything at all.
Examples of
mandate
in a Sentence
Noun
Sports fans have considerable forbearance. Year after year they endure escalating ticket prices, the abomination known as seat licensing and the implied
mandate
that taxpayers should foot the bill for the new stadium or arena that will absolutely revive downtown.
— Jack McCallum
,
Sports Illustrated
,
30 July 2007
All provisions requiring congressional approval, such as FDA regulation, were dropped, as were
mandates
for stronger package warnings, tighter enforcement on sales to youth, stronger public smoking bans, and … provisions to reduce youth smoking.
— Allan M. Brandt
,
The Cigarette Century
,
2007
Not the least of the Governors’ problems are the new
mandates
being put on them by Washington—by a President who was once one of their own.
— Karen Tumulty
,
Time
,
19 May 2003
Royal
mandates
must be obeyed.
They carried out the governor’s
mandate
to build more roads.
He won the election so convincingly that he believed he had been given a
mandate
for change.
Verb
The carbon prices on the European exchanges are higher precisely because the allowances for carbon emissions are
mandated
by government.
— Al Gore
,
An Inconvenient Truth
,
2006
But the FDA did nothing. Later, it protested that it doesn’t have the authority to
mandate
additional studies once a drug is marketed, but that is sophistry. The FDA has the authority to pull drugs off the market …
— Marcia Angell
,
New York Review of Books
,
8 June 2006
For a few tantalizing weeks this spring, the manufacturers of gun safety locks seemed to have hit the jackpot: the gun-control bill passed by the Senate in the wake of the Littleton shootings
mandated
that all new handguns be equipped with safety locks.
— Calvin Trillin
,
Time
,
5 July 1999
The law
mandates
that every car have seat belts.
He won the election so convincingly that he believed the people had
mandated
him to carry out his policies.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Verdugo considers those to be a suggestion, not a
mandate
.
—
BostonGlobe.com
, “Southern California has become baseball central,” 17 Apr. 2021
Citing a 95% drop in the daily average of deaths in the state, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu announced that a mask
mandate
set to expire Friday will not be renewed.
—
Travis Caldwell,
CNN
, “Nearly half of US states reported an increase in Covid-19 cases this week. Here’s what experts say can help stop another surge,” 16 Apr. 2021
But most claim to be following a
mandate
of science.
—
Richard Lindzen,
National Review
, “Climate ‘Emergency’? Not So Fast,” 16 Apr. 2021
His wishes, though, remain an expectation rather than a
mandate
because California’s decentralized education system lets the 1,200 school districts govern themselves.
—
Elinor Aspegren,
USA TODAY
, “California, Washington open up vaccine eligibility; empty middle seats on flights reduce exposure, CDC says: Live COVID-19 updates,” 16 Apr. 2021
Marketing for SMBs nearly always means working with fewer resources than their larger competitors but with a
mandate
to get big-budget results.
—
Jonathan Bacon,
Forbes
, “A 2021 Marketing Toolkit For Small Businesses,” 16 Apr. 2021
Without comment, commissioners agreed on Tuesday to discuss and possibly vote on doing away with the near year-long
mandate
at the next board meeting on April 27.
—
Martin E. Comas,
orlandosentinel.com
, “Seminole commissioner calls for end to county’s mask mandate,” 15 Apr. 2021
There’s no formal medical diagnosis and no
mandate
to screen for it.
—
Lindsey Tanner,
Anchorage Daily News
, “Loneliness is rampant. A simple call, or hug, may be a cure,” 15 Apr. 2021
The subjects show their attachments to one another in ways that are expressive but natural; the presence of a third party is neither an intrusion nor a
mandate
to perform.
—
Hanif Abdurraqib,
The New Yorker
, “The Timeless Pleasures of Dawoud Bey’s Street Portraits,” 15 Apr. 2021
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
The optimism may be misplaced, especially if most universities don’t
mandate
the vaccine.
—
Nicholas Florko,
STAT
, “In the Covid-19 vaccine push, no one is speaking Gen Z’s language,” 8 Apr. 2021
After cold weather led to major power outages a decade ago, the state recommended that electric generators weatherize plants but did not
mandate
investments.
—
Dallas News
, “Natural gas suppliers failed Texas during the winter storm, too. How to fix that?,” 30 Mar. 2021
The state made safety recommendations for schools to reopen this year, such as social distancing in classrooms and cohorting students, but did not
mandate
any precautions outside of mask wearing.
—
Arika Herron,
The Indianapolis Star
, “Indiana schools will return to full-time, in-person school in the fall, Eric Holcomb says,” 23 Mar. 2021
Last summer, the state Department of Education asked all districts to offer a virtual and an in-person option for students, but didn’t
mandate
how to do it.
—
al
, “As teacher morale hit bottom, these Alabama districts looked for ways to ease workload,” 16 Mar. 2021
Silver said the league would not
mandate
that players get vaccinated.
—
Jeff Zillgitt,
USA TODAY
, “Members of Pelicans, including some players, receive first dose of COVID-19 vaccine,” 15 Mar. 2021
While Biden can’t
mandate
that states prioritize teachers for their vaccine supplies, Biden is challenging them to do so.
—
Justin Gomez,
ABC News
, “Biden says there will be enough vaccine for American adults by end of May,” 2 Mar. 2021
Because Texas operates its own grid, the state isn’t subject to federal oversight by FERC, which can investigate power outages but can’t
mandate
reforms.
—
Jeremy Schwartz,
ProPublica
, ““Power Companies Get Exactly What They Want”: How Texas Repeatedly Failed to Protect Its Power Grid Against Extreme Weather,” 22 Feb. 2021
The bill goes significantly further than a version Democrats introduced last week that would have required schools to offer an in-person option but did not
mandate
a full weekly schedule as communities wrestle with the coronavirus pandemic.
—
Washington Post
, “Virginia House Democrats move closer to mandating that schools reopen,” 22 Feb. 2021
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘mandate.’ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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First Known Use of
mandate
Noun
1501, in the meaning defined at
sense 1
Verb
1919, in the meaning defined at
sense 1
History and Etymology for
mandate
Noun and Verb
Middle French & Latin; Middle French
mandat
, from Latin
mandatum
, from neuter of
mandatus
, past participle of
mandare
to entrust, enjoin, probably irregular from
manus
hand +
-dere
to put — more at
manual
,
do
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mandate
From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
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mandate
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mandate
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20 Apr 2021
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Cite this Entry
“Mandate.”
Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary
, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mandate. Accessed 30 Apr. 2021.
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mandate
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Translation of
mandate
for Spanish Speakers
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Translation of
mandate
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mandate
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mandate
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