What does "mandamus" mean?

A common law prerogative writ that compels a court or government officer to perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly.

What is a synonym for "mandamus"?

Common synonyms include: caveat, injunction, interdict, mandate, notice, notification.

Mandamus

//mænˈdeɪməs// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A common law prerogative writ that compels a court or government officer to perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly. countable, uncountable
"I admit to all my learned friends that a Mandamus does not issue where there is another course of proceeding by which the thing can be effected; but I again state to your Lordships, that if in this case a Mandamus must not issue, there is no other proceeding that can be adopted."
2
an extraordinary writ commanding an official to perform a ministerial act that the law recognizes as an absolute duty and not a matter for the official's discretion; used only when all other judicial remedies fail wordnet

Verb

1
To serve a writ of this kind upon. transitive

Synonyms

All synonyms

caveat injunction interdict mandate notice notification

Example

More examples

"I admit to all my learned friends that a Mandamus does not issue where there is another course of proceeding by which the thing can be effected; but I again state to your Lordships, that if in this case a Mandamus must not issue, there is no other proceeding that can be adopted."

Etymology

From Latin mandāmus (“we command”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.