di·rect (d -r kt , d -)v. di·rect·ed, di·rect·ing, di·rects v.tr.1. To manage or conduct the affairs of; regulate. 2. To have or take charge of; control. See Synonyms at conduct. 3. To give authoritative instructions to: directed the student to answer. 4. To cause to move toward a goal; aim. See Synonyms at aim. 5. To show or indicate the way for: directed us to the airport. 6. To cause to move in or follow a straight course: directed their fire at the target. 7. To indicate the intended recipient on (a letter, for example). 8. To address or adapt (remarks, for example) to a specific person, audience, or purpose. 9. a. To give guidance and instruction to (actors or musicians, for example) in the rehearsal and performance of a work. b. To supervise the performance of. v.intr.1. To give commands or directions. 2. To conduct a performance or rehearsal. adj.1. Proceeding without interruption in a straight course or line; not deviating or swerving: a direct route. 2. Straightforward and candid; frank: a direct response. 3. Having no intervening persons, conditions, or agencies; immediate: direct contact; direct sunlight. 4. Effected by action of the voters, rather than through elected representatives or delegates: direct elections. 5. Being of unbroken descent; lineal: a direct descendant of the monarch. 6. Consisting of the exact words of the writer or speaker: a direct quotation; direct speech. 7. Lacking compromising or mitigating elements; absolute: direct opposites. 8. Mathematics Varying in the same manner as another quantity, especially increasing if another quantity increases or decreasing if it decreases. 9. Astronomy Designating west-to-east motion of a planet in the same direction as the sun's movement against the stars. 10. Sports Being a free kick in soccer by which a goal can be scored without the ball being touched by a second player.
[Middle English directen, from Latin drigere, dr ct-, to give direction to : d-, dis-, apart; see dis- + regere, to guide; see reg- in Indo-European roots.] |
direct Adjective 1. shortest; straight: a direct route 2. without intervening people: they secretly arranged direct links to their commanders 3. honest; frank: he was polite but very direct 4. diametric: the direct opposite 5. in an unbroken line of descent: a direct descendant Adverb directly; straight Verb 1. to conduct or control the affairs of 2. to give orders with authority to (a person or group) 3. to tell (someone) the way to a place 4. to address (a letter, parcel, etc.) 5. to address (a look or remark) at someone: the look she directed at him was one of unconcealed hatred 6. a. to provide guidance to (actors, cameramen, etc.) in (a play or film) b. to supervise the making or staging of (a film or play) [Latin dirigere to guide] directness n
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Verb | 1. | direct - command with authority; "He directed the children to do their homework"order, enjoin, tell, say - give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority; "I said to him to go home"; "She ordered him to do the shopping"; "The mother told the child to get dressed" stet - printing: direct that a matter marked for omission or correction is to be retained (used in the imperative) | | 2. | direct - intend (something) to move towards a certain goal; "He aimed his fists towards his opponent's face"; "criticism directed at her superior"; "direct your anger towards others, not towards yourself"address - direct a question at someone aim, take aim, train, direct, take - point or cause to go (blows, weapons, or objects such as photographic equipment) towards; "Please don't aim at your little brother!"; "He trained his gun on the burglar"; "Don't train your camera on the women"; "Take a swipe at one's opponent" | | 3. | direct - guide the actors in (plays and films)create, make - make or cause to be or to become; "make a mess in one's office"; "create a furor" | | 4. | direct - be in charge ofhold, give, have, throw, make - organize or be responsible for; "hold a reception"; "have, throw, or make a party"; "give a course" handle, manage, care, deal - be in charge of, act on, or dispose of; "I can deal with this crew of workers"; "This blender can't handle nuts"; "She managed her parents' affairs after they got too old" guide, steer - be a guiding or motivating force or drive; "The teacher steered the gifted students towards the more challenging courses" head, lead - be in charge of; "Who is heading this project?" operate, run - direct or control; projects, businesses, etc.; "She is running a relief operation in the Sudan" administer - direct the taking of; "administer an exam"; "administer an oath" | | 5. | direct - take somebody somewhere; "We lead him to our chief"; "can you take me to the main entrance?"; "He conducted us to the palace"hand - guide or conduct or usher somewhere; "hand the elderly lady into the taxi" usher, show - take (someone) to their seats, as in theaters or auditoriums; "The usher showed us to our seats" | | 6. | direct - cause to go somewhere; "The explosion sent the car flying in the air"; "She sent her children to camp"; "He directed all his energies into his dissertation"cast, contrive, throw, project - put or send forth; "She threw the flashlight beam into the corner"; "The setting sun threw long shadows"; "cast a spell"; "cast a warm light" move, displace - cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense; "Move those boxes into the corner, please"; "I'm moving my money to another bank"; "The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant" turn - channel one's attention, interest, thought, or attention toward or away from something; "The pedophile turned to boys for satisfaction"; "people turn to mysticism at the turn of a millennium" turn - to send or let go; "They turned away the crowd at the gate of the governor's mansion" divert - send on a course or in a direction different from the planned or intended one route - send via a specific route refer - send or direct for treatment, information, or a decision; "refer a patient to a specialist"; "refer a bill to a committee" airt, redirect - channel into a new direction; "redirect your attention to the danger from the fundamentalists" blow - cause air to go in, on, or through; "Blow my hair dry" | | 7. |  direct - point or cause to go (blows, weapons, or objects such as photographic equipment) towards; "Please don't aim at your little brother!"; "He trained his gun on the burglar"; "Don't train your camera on the women"; "Take a swipe at one's opponent"target, direct, aim, place, point - intend (something) to move towards a certain goal; "He aimed his fists towards his opponent's face"; "criticism directed at her superior"; "direct your anger towards others, not towards yourself" draw a bead on - aim with a gun; "The hunter drew a bead on the rabbit" hold - aim, point, or direct; "Hold the fire extinguisher directly on the flames" turn - direct at someone; "She turned a smile on me"; "They turned their flashlights on the car" swing - hit or aim at with a sweeping arm movement; "The soccer player began to swing at the referee" point, level, charge - direct into a position for use; "point a gun"; "He charged his weapon at me" level - aim at; "level criticism or charges at somebody" position - cause to be in an appropriate place, state, or relation sight - take aim by looking through the sights of a gun (or other device) | | 8. | direct - lead, as in the performance of a composition; "conduct an orchestra; Barenboim conducted the Chicago symphony for years"music - musical activity (singing or whistling etc.); "his music was his central interest" perform, do, execute - carry out or perform an action; "John did the painting, the weeding, and he cleaned out the gutters"; "the skater executed a triple pirouette"; "she did a little dance" conduct - lead musicians in the performance of; "Bernstein conducted Mahler like no other conductor"; "she cannot conduct modern pieces" | | 9. | direct - give directions to; point somebody into a certain direction; "I directed them towards the town hall"talk down - direct and control (the flight of an airplane during landing) via radio; "the control tower talked down the plane whose pilot fell ill" point the way - indicate the right path or direction; "The sign pointed the way to London" | | 10. | direct - specifically design a product, event, or activity for a certain public | | 11. | direct - direct the course; determine the direction of travellingdock - maneuver into a dock; "dock the ships" sheer - cause to sheer; "She sheered her car around the obstacle" pull over - steer a vehicle to the side of the road; "The car pulled over when the ambulance approached at high speed" helm - be at or take the helm of; "helm the ship" crab - direct (an aircraft) into a crosswind navigate - direct carefully and safely; "He navigated his way to the altar" starboard - turn to the right, of helms or rudders conn - conduct or direct the steering of a ship or plane navigate, pilot - act as the navigator in a car, plane, or vessel and plan, direct, plot the path and position of the conveyance; "Is anyone volunteering to navigate during the trip?"; "Who was navigating the ship during the accident?" tree, corner - force a person or an animal into a position from which he cannot escape park - maneuver a vehicle into a parking space; "Park the car in front of the library"; "Can you park right here?" control, command - exercise authoritative control or power over; "control the budget"; "Command the military forces" | | 12. | direct - put an address on (an envelope)re-address - put a new address on (an envelope), as for forwarding label - assign a label to; designate with a label; "These students were labelled `learning disabled'" | | 13. | direct - plan and direct (a complex undertaking); "he masterminded the robbery"plan - make plans for something; "He is planning a trip with his family" choreograph - plan and oversee the development and details of; "The meeting between the two Presidents had been carefully choreographed" | | Adj. | 1. | direct - direct in spatial dimensions; proceeding without deviation or interruption; straight and short; "a direct route"; "a direct flight"; "a direct hit"straight - having no deviations; "straight lines"; "straight roads across the desert"; "straight teeth"; "straight shoulders" indirect - not direct in spatial dimension; not leading by a straight line or course to a destination; "sometimes taking an indirect path saves time"; "you must take an indirect course in sailing" | | 2. | direct - having no intervening persons, agents, conditions; "in direct sunlight"; "in direct contact with the voters"; "direct exposure to the disease"; "a direct link"; "the direct cause of the accident"; "direct vote"immediate - having no intervening medium; "an immediate influence" | | 3. | direct - straightforward in means or manner or behavior or language or action; "a direct question"; "a direct response"; "a direct approach"honest, honorable - not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent; "honest lawyers"; "honest reporting" indirect - extended senses; not direct in manner or language or behavior or action; "making indirect but legitimate inquiries"; "an indirect insult"; "doubtless they had some indirect purpose in mind"; "though his methods are indirect they are not dishonest"; "known as a shady indirect fellow" | | 4. | direct - in a straight unbroken line of descent from parent to child; "lineal ancestors"; "lineal heirs"; "a direct descendant of the king"; "direct heredity"related - connected by kinship, common origin, or marriage | | 5. | direct - moving from west to east on the celestial sphere; or--for planets--around the sun in the same direction as the Earthastronomy, uranology - the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole retrograde - moving from east to west on the celestial sphere; or--for planets--around the sun in a direction opposite to that of the Earth | | 6. | direct - similar in nature or effect or relation to another quantity; "a term is in direct proportion to another term if it increases (or decreases) as the other increases (or decreases)"math, mathematics, maths - a science (or group of related sciences) dealing with the logic of quantity and shape and arrangement inverse - opposite in nature or effect or relation to another quantity ; "a term is in inverse proportion to another term if it increases (or decreases) as the other decreases (or increases)" | | 7. | direct - (of a current) flowing in one direction only; "direct current"electricity - a physical phenomenon associated with stationary or moving electrons and protons alternating - (of a current) reversing direction; "alternating current" | | 8. | direct - being an immediate result or consequence; "a direct result of the accident"primary - of first rank or importance or value; direct and immediate rather than secondary; "primary goals"; "a primary effect"; "primary sources"; "a primary interest" | | 9. | direct - in precisely the same words used by a writer or speaker; "a direct quotation"; "repeated their dialog verbatim"exact - marked by strict and particular and complete accordance with fact; "an exact mind"; "an exact copy"; "hit the exact center of the target" | | 10. | direct - lacking compromising or mitigating elements; exact; "the direct opposite"absolute - perfect or complete or pure; "absolute loyalty"; "absolute silence"; "absolute truth"; "absolute alcohol" | | Adv. | 1. | direct - without deviation; "the path leads directly to the lake"; "went direct to the office" |
direct verb 2. guide, show, lead, point the way, point in the direction of verb 3. control, run, manage, lead, rule, guide, handle, conduct, advise, govern, regulate, administer, oversee, supervise, dispose, preside over, mastermind, call the shots, call the tune, superintend adjective 9. clear, specific, plain, absolute, distinct, definite, explicit, downright, point-blank, unequivocal, unqualified, unambiguous, categorical << OPPOSITE ambiguous adjective 10. straightforward, open, straight, frank, blunt, sincere, outspoken, honest, matter-of-fact, downright, candid, forthright, truthful, upfront ( informal) man-to-man, plain-spoken << OPPOSITE indirect  Translations direct [daɪˈrɛkt] adj ( gen) → directo; [ manner, person] → francocan you direct me to...? → ¿puede indicarme dónde está...?;
 direct [daɪˈrɛkt] adj → direct(e); [ manner, person] → direct, franc(franche)
 direct [daɪˈrɛkt] adj, adv → direkt ( company, project, programme etc) → leiten;
 direct [daɪˈrɛkt] adj → diretto/a; [ manner, person] → franco/a, esplicito/ato direct sb to do sth → dare direttive a qn di fare qc;
|
|
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
direct
