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Edicts are few and far between in a democracy, since very few important laws can be made by a president or prime minister acting alone. But when a crisis arose in the Roman Republic, the senate would appoint a dictator, who would have the power to rule by edict. The idea was that the dictator could make decisions quickly, issuing his edicts faster than the senate could act. When the crisis was over, the edicts were canceled and the dictator usually retired from public life. Things are different today: dictators almost always install themselves in power, and they never give it up.
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Examples of edict in a Sentence
Essence, 5 Nov. 2024
In the wake of Amazon’s return-to-office edict, CEOs are lining up to blame remote work for everything from productivity problems to culture woes.
—Ann Kowal Smith, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
In spite of the edict coming with a strong enforcement tool, capital punishment, the controls were widely violated.
—Roger Valdez, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
The Taliban’s latest edicts last month, referred to by Streep, include the demand for women and girls to remain silent in public.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN, 26 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Edict.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/edict. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
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edict
noun
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