o·ri·en·ta·tion

(ôr′ē-ĕn-tā′shən, -ən-)

1. The act of orienting or the state of being oriented.

2. Location or position relative to the points of the compass.

3. The construction of a church so that its longitudinal axis has an east-west direction with the main altar usually at the eastern end.

4. The direction followed in the course of a trend, movement, or development.

5. A tendency of thought; a general inclination: a Marxist orientation.

6. Sexual orientation.

a. An adjustment or adaptation to a new environment, situation, custom, or set of ideas.

b. Introductory instruction concerning a new situation: orientation for incoming students.

8. Psychology Awareness of the objective world in relation to one's self.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

orientation

(ˌɔːrɪɛnˈteɪʃən)

1. the act or process of orienting or the state of being oriented

2. (Navigation) position or positioning with relation to the points of the compass or other specific directions

3. the adjustment or alignment of oneself or one's ideas to surroundings or circumstances

4. (Education) chiefly

a. a course, programme, lecture, etc, introducing a new situation or environment

b. (as modifier): an orientation talk.

5. (Psychology) psychol the knowledge of one's own temporal, social, and practical circumstances in life

6. basic beliefs or preferences: sexual orientation.

7. (Biology) biology the change in position of the whole or part of an organism in response to a stimulus, such as light

8. (Chemistry) chem the relative dispositions of atoms, ions, or groups in molecules or crystals

9. (Architecture) the siting of a church on an east-west axis, usually with the altar at the E end

ˌorienˈtational adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

o•ri•en•ta•tion

(ˌɔr i ənˈteɪ ʃən, -ɛn-, ˌoʊr-)

n.

1. the act or process of orienting.

2. the state of being oriented.

3. an introductory program to guide a person in adjusting to new surroundings, employment, or the like.

4. the ability to locate oneself in one's environment with reference to time, place, and people.

5. position in relation to true north, to points on the compass, or to a specific place or object.

6. the ascertainment of one's true position, as in a novel situation.

7. the general direction or tendency of one's approach, thoughts, etc.

8. the relative positions of certain atoms or groups.

[1830–40]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	orientation - the act of orienting locating, positioning, emplacement, location, placement, position - the act of putting something in a certain place
	2.	orientation - an integrated set of attitudes and beliefs attitude, mental attitude - a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways; "he had the attitude that work was fun" wavelength - a shared orientation leading to mutual understanding; "they are on the same wavelength" experimentalism - an orientation that favors experimentation and innovation; "the children of psychologists are often raised in an atmosphere of experimentalism" reorientation - a fresh orientation; a changed set of attitudes and beliefs perspective, view, position - a way of regarding situations or topics etc.; "consider what follows from the positivist view" orthodoxy - a belief or orientation agreeing with conventional standards heresy, heterodoxy, unorthodoxy - any opinions or doctrines at variance with the official or orthodox position ideology, political orientation, political theory - an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation religious orientation - an attitude toward religion or religious practices
	3.	orientation - position or alignment relative to points of the compass or other specific directions direction - the spatial relation between something and the course along which it points or moves; "he checked the direction and velocity of the wind" attitude - position of aircraft or spacecraft relative to a frame of reference (the horizon or direction of motion) horizontal - something that is oriented horizontally vertical - something that is oriented vertically quarter - one of the four major division of the compass; "the wind is coming from that quarter"
	4.	orientation - a predisposition in favor of something; "a predilection for expensive cars"; "his sexual preferences"; "showed a Marxist orientation" predilection, preference predisposition - an inclination beforehand to interpret statements in a particular way
	5.	orientation - a person's awareness of self with regard to position and time and place and personal relationships self-awareness - awareness of your own individuality
	6.	orientation - a course introducing a new situation or environment orientation course course, course of instruction, course of study, class - education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings; "he took a course in basket weaving"; "flirting is not unknown in college classes"

orientation

noun

1. inclination, tendency, bias, leaning, bent, disposition, predisposition, predilection, proclivity, partiality, turn of mind The party is liberal and democratic in orientation.

2. induction, introduction, breaking in, adjustment, settling in, adaptation, initiation, assimilation, familiarization, acclimatization the company's policy on recruiting and orientation

3. position, situation, location, site, bearings, direction, arrangement, whereabouts, disposition, coordination The orientation of the church is such that the front faces the square.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

orientation

noun

One's place and direction relative to one's surroundings:

bearing (often used in plural), location, position, situation.

Translations

الإتِّجاه نَحو الشَّرْق، تَكَيُّف

orientering

Orientierung

orientación

orientation

betájolásirányorientációtájékozódástájolás

áttun; òaî aî ná áttum

orientamento

ориентация ориентирование ориентировка размещение склонность

yönelim

定位

orientation

[ˌɔːrɪenˈteɪʃən]

A. N → orientación f

B. CPD orientation course N → curso m de orientación

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

orientation

[ˌɔːriənˈteɪʃ^ən] n [organization, country] → orientation f
The movement is liberal and social democratic in orientation → Le mouvement est d'orientation libérale et sociale-démocrate.

[person] (sexual, political, religious) → orientation f
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation → la discrimination sur la base de l'orientation sexuelle

(= induction) → orientation f, stage m d'accueil orientation courseorientation course n → séance f d'information

orientation

(= getting one’s bearing) → Orientierung f; (fig) → Ausrichtung f, → Orientierung f

(= position, direction) (lit: of boat, spaceship etc) → Kurs m; (fig) → Orientierung f; (= attitude) → Einstellung f → (towards zu); (Comput: for printing) → Ausrichtung f; (= leaning) → Ausrichtung f (→ towards auf +acc); sexual orientation → sexuelle Orientierung

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

orientation

[ˌɔːrɪənˈteɪʃ/ən] n → orientamento

orientate

(ˈoːriənteit) (American) orient (ˈoːriənt) verb

1. to get (oneself) used to unfamiliar surroundings, conditions etc.

2. to find out one's position in relation to something else. The hikers tried to orientate themselves before continuing their walk.

ˌorienˈtation noun

or·i·en·ta·tion

n. orientación, dirección.

orientation

n orientación f; sexual — orientación sexual