direct
pronunciation
How to pronounce direct in British English:
UK [dəˈrekt , daɪˈrekt]
How to pronounce direct in American English:
US [dəˈrekt , daɪˈrekt]
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- Verb:
- command with authority
- intend (something) to move towards a certain goal
- guide the actors in (plays and films)
- be in charge of
- take somebody somewhere
- cause to go somewhere
- aim or direct at; as of blows, weapons, or objects such as photographic equipment
- lead, as in the performance of a composition
- give directions to; point somebody into a certain direction
- specifically design a product, event, or activity for a certain public
- direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
- put an address on (an envelope, for example)
- plan and direct (a complex undertaking)
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- Adjective:
- direct in spatial dimensions; proceeding without deviation or interruption; straight and short
- immediate or direct in bearing or force; having nothing intervening
- extended senses; direct in means or manner or behavior or language or action
- in a straight unbroken line of descent from parent to child
- moving from west to east on the celestial sphere; or--for planets--around the sun in the same direction as the Earth
- similar in nature or effect or relation to another quantity
- of a current flowing in one direction only; not alternating
- as an immediate result or consequence
- in precisely the same words used by a writer or speaker
- effected directly by action of the voters rather than through elected representatives
- exact
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- Adverb:
- without deviation
Word Origin
- direct
- direct: [14] English acquired direct from dīrectus, the past participle of Latin dīrigere ‘arrange in distinct lines’, hence ‘straighten, guide’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix dis- ‘apart’ and regere ‘guide, rule’ (source of English regent, region, etc). The first recorded use of the verb in English was ‘write something and send it to a particular person’, a sense now preserved more specifically in the related address. (Also ultimately from Latin dīrigere is dirigible ‘steerable airship’ [19], a borrowing from French dirigeable; this was a derivative of diriger, the French descendant of dīrigere.)=> address, dirigible, dress, regent, region
- direct (v.)
- late 14c., "to write (to someone), to address," from Latin directus "straight," past participle of dirigere "set straight," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + regere "to guide" (see regal). Compare dress; address. Meaning "to govern, regulate" is from c. 1500; "to order, ordain" is from 1650s. Sense of "to write the destination on the outside of a letter" is from 16c. Of plays, films, etc., from 1913. Related: Directed; directing.
- direct (adj.)
- late 14c., from Latin directus "straight," past participle of dirigere "set straight" (see direct (v.)).
Antonym
Example
- 1. This will cause direct friction .
- 2. We need more direct action .
- 3. They avoid direct eye contact .
- 4. Try the direct approach first .
- 5. Direct intervention is one option .