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.
–verb (used without object)
11.
to act as a guide.
12.
to give commands or orders.
13.
to serve as the director of a play, film, orchestra, etc.
–adjective
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.
Mathematics.
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. Compare 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.
Government. 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.
Electricity. of or pertaining to direct current.
25.
Astronomy.
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. Compare retrograde(def. 4).
26.
Surveying. (of a telescope) in its normal position; not inverted or transited.
27.
(of dye colors) working without the use of a mordant; substantive.
–adverb
28.
in a direct manner; directly; straight: Answer me direct.
[Origin: 1325–75; ME direct (adj., adv.), directen (v.) (< AF) < L dīréctus, déréctus (the latter prob. the orig. form, later reanalyzed as dī-di-2), ptp. of dérigere to align, straighten, guide (dé-de-+ -rigere, comb. form of regere to guide, rule)]
—Related forms
di·rect·a·ble, adjective
di·rect·ness, noun
—Synonyms 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.
To have or take charge of; control. See Synonyms at conduct.
To give authoritative instructions to: directed the student to answer.
To cause to move toward a goal; aim. See Synonyms at aim.
To show or indicate the way for: directed us to the airport.
To cause to move in or follow a straight course: directed their fire at the target.
To indicate the intended recipient on (a letter, for example).
To address or adapt (remarks, for example) to a specific person, audience, or purpose.
To give guidance and instruction to (actors or musicians, for example) in the rehearsal and performance of a work.
To supervise the performance of.
v.
intr.
To give commands or directions.
To conduct a performance or rehearsal.
adj.
Proceeding without interruption in a straight course or line; not deviating or swerving: a direct route.
Straightforward and candid; frank: a direct response.
Having no intervening persons, conditions, or agencies; immediate: direct contact; direct sunlight.
Effected by action of the voters, rather than through elected representatives or delegates: direct elections.
Being of unbroken descent; lineal: a direct descendant of the monarch.
Consisting of the exact words of the writer or speaker: a direct quotation; direct speech.
Lacking compromising or mitigating elements; absolute: direct opposites.
Mathematics Varying in the same manner as another quantity, especially increasing if another quantity increases or decreasing if it decreases.
Astronomy Designating west-to-east motion of a planet in the same direction as the sun's movement against the stars.
Sports Being a free kick in soccer by which a goal can be scored without the ball being touched by a second player.
adv.
Straight; directly.
[Middle English directen, from Latin dīrigere, dīrēct-, to give direction to : dī-, dis-, apart; see dis- + regere, to guide; see reg- in Indo-European roots.]
c.1374, from L. directus "straight," pp. of dirigere "set straight," from dis- "apart" + regere "to guide" (see regal). The adj. is from c.1391. Director of films, plays, etc., is from 1911. Directory "alphabetical listing of inhabitants of a region" is from 1732.
direct in spatial dimensions; proceeding without deviation or interruption; straight and short; "a direct route"; "a direct flight"; "a direct hit" [ant: indirect]
2.
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"
3.
straightforward in means or manner or behavior or language or action; "a direct question"; "a direct response"; "a direct approach" [ant: indirect]
4.
in a straight unbroken line of descent from parent to child; "lineal ancestors"; "lineal heirs"; "a direct descendant of the king"; "direct heredity" [syn: lineal] [ant: collateral]
5.
moving from west to east on the celestial sphere; or--for planets--around the sun in the same direction as the Earth [ant: retrograde]
6.
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)" [ant: inverse]
7.
(of a current) flowing in one direction only; "direct current" [ant: alternating]
8.
being an immediate result or consequence; "a direct result of the accident"
9.
in precisely the same words used by a writer or speaker; "a direct quotation"; "repeated their dialog verbatim"
10.
lacking compromising or mitigating elements; exact; "the direct opposite"
adverb
1.
without deviation; "the path leads directly to the lake"; "went direct to the office" [syn: directly]
verb
1.
command with authority; "He directed the children to do their homework"
2.
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" [syn: target]
3.
guide the actors in (plays and films)
4.
be in charge of
5.
take somebody somewhere; "We lead him to our chief"; "can you take me to the main entrance?"; "He conducted us to the palace" [syn: lead]
6.
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" [syn: send]
7.
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" [syn: aim]
8.
lead, as in the performance of a composition; "conduct an orchestra; Barenboim conducted the Chicago symphony for years" [syn: conduct]
9.
give directions to; point somebody into a certain direction; "I directed them towards the town hall"
10.
specifically design a product, event, or activity for a certain public [syn: calculate]
11.
direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
A*droit"\, a. [F. adroit; [`a] (L. ad) = droit straight, right, fr. L. directus, p. p. of dirigere. See Direct.] Dexterous in the use of the hands or in the exercise of the mental faculties; exhibiting skill and readiness in avoiding danger or escaping difficulty; ready in invention or execution; -- applied to persons and to acts; as, an adroit mechanic, an adroit reply. "Adroit in the application of the telescope and quadrant." --Horsley. "He was adroit in intrigue." --Macaulay. Syn: Dexterous; skillful; expert; ready; clever; deft; ingenious; cunning; ready-witted.
Dem`on*stra"tion\, n. [L. demonstratio: cf. F. d['e]monstration.]1. The act of demonstrating; an exhibition; proof; especially, proof beyond the possibility of doubt; indubitable evidence, to the senses or reason. Those intervening ideas which serve to show the agreement of any two others are called "proofs;" and where agreement or disagreement is by this means plainly and clearly perceived, it is called demonstration. --Locke. 2. An expression, as of the feelings, by outward signs; a manifestation; a show. Did your letters pierce the queen to any demonstration of grief? --Shak. Loyal demonstrations toward the prince. --Prescott. 3. (Anat.) The exhibition and explanation of a dissection or other anatomical preparation. 4. (Mil.) a decisive exhibition of force, or a movement indicating an attack. 5. (Logic) The act of proving by the syllogistic process, or the proof itself. 6. (Math.) A course of reasoning showing that a certain result is a necessary consequence of assumed premises; -- these premises being definitions, axioms, and previously established propositions. Direct, or Positive, demonstration (Logic & Math.), one in which the correct conclusion is the immediate sequence of reasoning from axiomatic or established premises; -- opposed to Indirect, or Negative, demonstration (called also reductio ad absurdum), in which the correct conclusion is an inference from the demonstration that any other hypothesis must be incorrect.
Di*rect"\, a. [L. directus, p. p. of dirigere to direct: cf. F. direct. See Dress, and cf. Dirge.]1. Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by the short or shortest way to a point or end; as, a direct line; direct means. What is direct to, what slides by, the question. --Locke. 2. Straightforward; not of crooked ways, or swerving from truth and openness; sincere; outspoken. Be even and direct with me. --Shak. 3. Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous. He nowhere, that I know, says it in direct words. --Locke. A direct and avowed interference with elections. --Hallam. 4. In the line of descent; not collateral; as, a descendant in the direct line. 5. (Astron.) In the direction of the general planetary motion, or from west to east; in the order of the signs; not retrograde; -- said of the motion of a celestial body. Direct action. (Mach.) See Direct-acting. Direct discourse (Gram.), the language of any one quoted without change in its form; as, he said "I can not come;" -- correlative to indirect discourse, in which there is change of form; as, he said that he could not come. They are often called respectively by their Latin names, oratio directa, and oratio obliqua. Direct evidence (Law), evidence which is positive or not inferential; -- opposed to circumstantial, or indirect, evidence. -- This distinction, however, is merely formal, since there is no direct evidence that is not circumstantial, or dependent on circumstances for its credibility. --Wharton. Direct examination (Law), the first examination of a witness in the orderly course, upon the merits. --Abbott. Direct fire (Mil.), fire, the direction of which is perpendicular to the line of troops or to the parapet aimed at. Direct process (Metal.), one which yields metal in working condition by a single process from the ore. --Knight. Direct tax, a tax assessed directly on lands, etc., and polls, distinguished from taxes on merchandise, or customs, and from excise.
Di*rect"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Directed; p. pr. & vb. n. Directing.]1. To arrange in a direct or straight line, as against a mark, or towards a goal; to point; to aim; as, to direct an arrow or a piece of ordnance. 2. To point out or show to (any one), as the direct or right course or way; to guide, as by pointing out the way; as, he directed me to the left-hand road. The Lord direct your into the love of God. --2 Thess. iii. 5. The next points to which I will direct your attention. --Lubbock. 3. To determine the direction or course of; to cause to go on in a particular manner; to order in the way to a certain end; to regulate; to govern; as, to direct the affairs of a nation or the movements of an army. I will direct their work in truth. --Is. lxi. 8. 4. To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior; to order; as, he directed them to go. I 'll first direct my men what they shall do. --Shak. 5. To put a direction or address upon; to mark with the name and residence of the person to whom anything is sent; to superscribe; as, to direct a letter. Syn: To guide; lead; conduct; dispose; manage; regulate; order; instruct; command.
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