direct

—directable, adj. —directness, n.

/di rekt", duy-/, v.t.

1. to manage or guide by advice, helpful information, instruction, etc.: He directed the company through a difficult time.

2. to regulate the course of; control: History is directed by a small number of great men and women.

3. to administer; manage; supervise: She directs the affairs of the estate.

4. to give authoritative instructions to; command; order or ordain: I directed him to leave the room.

5. to serve as a director in the production or performance of (a musical work, play, motion picture, etc.).

6. to guide, tell, or show (a person) the way to a place: I directed him to the post office.

7. to point, aim, or send toward a place or object: to direct radio waves around the globe.

8. to channel or focus toward a given result, object, or end (often fol. by to or toward): She directed all her energies toward the accomplishment of the work.

9. to address (words, a speech, a written report, etc.) to a person or persons: The secretary directed his remarks to two of the committee members.

10. to address (a letter, package, etc.) to an intended recipient.

v.i.

11. to act as a guide.

12. to give commands or orders.

13. to serve as the director of a play, film, orchestra, etc.

adj.

14. proceeding in a straight line or by the shortest course; straight; undeviating; not oblique: a direct route.

15. proceeding in an unbroken line of descent; lineal rather than collateral: a direct descendant.

16. Math.

a. (of a proportion) containing terms of which an increase (or decrease) in one results in an increase (or decrease) in another: a term is said to be in direct proportion to another term if one increases (or decreases) as the other increases (or decreases).

b. (of a function) the function itself, in contrast to its inverse. Cf. inverse (def. 2).

17. without intervening persons, influences, factors, etc.; immediate; personal: direct contact with the voters; direct exposure to a disease.

18. straightforward; frank; candid: the direct remarks of a forthright individual.

19. absolute; exact: the direct opposite.

20. consisting exactly of the words originally used; verbatim: direct quotation.

21. Govt. of or by action of voters, which takes effect without any intervening agency such as representatives.

22. inevitable; consequential: War will be a direct result of such political action.

23. allocated for or arising from a particular known agency, process, job, etc.: The new machine was listed by the accountant as a direct cost.

24. Elect. of or pertaining to direct current.

25. Astron.

a. moving in an orbit in the same direction as the earth in its revolution around the sun.

b. appearing to move on the celestial sphere in the direction of the natural order of the signs of the zodiac, from west to east. Cf. retrograde (def. 4).

26. Survey. (of a telescope) in its normal position; not inverted or transited.

27. (of dye colors) working without the use of a mordant; substantive.

adv.

28. in a direct manner; directly; straight: Answer me direct.

[1325-75; ME direct (adj., adv.), directen (v.) ( < AF) < L directus, derectus (the latter prob. the orig. form, later reanalyzed as di- DI-²), ptp. of derigere to align, straighten, guide (de- DE- + -rigere, comb. form of regere to guide, rule)]

Syn. 1. See guide. 4. DIRECT, ORDER, COMMAND mean to issue instructions. DIRECT suggests also giving explanations or advice; the emphasis is not on the authority of the director, but on steps necessary for the accomplishing of a purpose. ORDER connotes a personal relationship in which one in a superior position imperatively instructs a subordinate to do something. COMMAND, less personal and, often, less specific in detail, suggests greater formality and, sometimes, a more fixed authority on the part of the superior. 18. open, sincere, outspoken.

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