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DIRECTION
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of setting and holding a course
Example:
a new council was installed under the direction of the king
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("direction" is a kind of...):
control (the activity of managing or exerting control over something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "direction"):
driving (the act of controlling and steering the movement of a vehicle or animal)
aim (the action of directing something at an object)
navigation; pilotage; piloting (the guidance of ships or airplanes from place to place)
celestial guidance (a method of controlling the flight of a missile or spacecraft by reference to the positions of celestial bodies)
inertial guidance; inertial navigation (a method of controlling the flight of a missile by devices that respond to inertial forces)
command guidance (a method of controlling the flight of a missile by commands originating from the ground or from another missile)
terrestrial guidance (a method of controlling the flight of a missile by devices that respond to the strength and direction of the earth's gravitational field)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The act of managing something
Example:
is the direction of the economy a function of government?
Synonyms:
direction; management
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("direction" is a kind of...):
social control (control exerted (actively or passively) by group action)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "direction"):
guidance; steering (the act of guiding or showing the way)
canalisation; canalization; channelisation; channelization (management through specified channels of communication)
disenfranchisement (the act of withdrawing certification or terminating a franchise)
authorisation; authorization; empowerment (the act of conferring legality or sanction or formal warrant)
administration; disposal (a method of tending to or managing the affairs of a some group of people (especially the group's business affairs))
oversight; superintendence; supervising; supervision (management by overseeing the performance or operation of a person or group)
handling; treatment (the management of someone or something)
misdirection; mismanagement (management that is careless or inefficient)
misconduct (bad or dishonest management by persons supposed to act on another's behalf)
homemaking (the management of a household)
finance (the management of money and credit and banking and investments)
database management (creation and maintenance of a database)
conducting (the direction of an orchestra or choir)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The concentration of attention or energy on something
Example:
he had no direction in his life
Synonyms:
centering; direction; focal point; focus; focusing; focussing
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("direction" is a kind of...):
absorption; concentration; engrossment; immersion (complete attention; intense mental effort)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "direction"):
particularism (a focus on something particular)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A general course along which something has a tendency to develop
Example:
they proposed a new direction for the firm
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("direction" is a kind of...):
disposition; inclination; tendency (an attitude of mind especially one that favors one alternative over others)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "direction"):
tenor (a settled or prevailing or habitual course of a person's life)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Something that provides direction or advice as to a decision or course of action
Synonyms:
counsel; counseling; counselling; direction; guidance
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("direction" is a kind of...):
content; message; subject matter; substance (what a communication that is about something is about)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "direction"):
confidential information; hint; lead; steer; tip; wind (an indication of potential opportunity)
marriage counseling (counseling on marital problems and disagreements)
genetic counseling (guidance for prospective parents on the likelihood of genetic disorders in their future children)
cynosure (something that provides guidance (as Polaris guides mariners))
career counseling (counseling on career opportunities)
guideline; road map (a detailed plan or explanation to guide you in setting standards or determining a course of action)
Sense 6
Meaning:
A message describing how something is to be done
Example:
he gave directions faster than she could follow them
Synonyms:
direction; instruction
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("direction" is a kind of...):
content; message; subject matter; substance (what a communication that is about something is about)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "direction"):
system command (a computer user's instruction (not part of a program) that calls for action by the computer's executive program)
style (editorial directions to be followed in spelling and punctuation and capitalization and typographical display)
stage direction (an instruction written as part of the script of a play)
rule (directions that define the way a game or sport is to be conducted)
formula; recipe (directions for making something)
prescription (directions prescribed beforehand; the action of prescribing authoritative rules or directions)
markup (detailed stylistic instructions for typesetting something that is to be printed; manual markup is usually written on the copy (e.g. underlining words that are to be set in italics))
address; destination; name and address (written directions for finding some location; written on letters or packages that are to be delivered to that location)
misdirection (incorrect directions or instructions)
rubric (directions for the conduct of Christian church services (often printed in red in a prayer book))
prescript; rule (prescribed guide for conduct or action)
rule (any one of a systematic body of regulations defining the way of life of members of a religious order)
Sense 7
Meaning:
A formal statement of a command or injunction to do something
Example:
the judge's charge to the jury
Synonyms:
charge; commission; direction
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("direction" is a kind of...):
bid; bidding; command; dictation (an authoritative direction or instruction to do something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "direction"):
misdirection (an incorrect charge to a jury given by a judge)
Sense 8
Meaning:
A line leading to a place or point
Example:
didn't know the way home
Synonyms:
direction; way
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("direction" is a kind of...):
itinerary; path; route (an established line of travel or access)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "direction"):
tendency; trend (a general direction in which something tends to move)
qibla (the direction of the Kaaba toward which Muslims turn for their daily prayers)
north-south direction (in a direction parallel with lines of longitude)
east-west direction (in a direction parallel with lines of latitude)
course; trend (general line of orientation)
aim; bearing; heading (the direction or path along which something moves or along which it lies)
Sense 9
Meaning:
The spatial relation between something and the course along which it points or moves
Example:
he checked the direction and velocity of the wind
Classified under:
Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas
Hypernyms ("direction" is a kind of...):
position; spatial relation (the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated)
Attribute:
incoming (arriving at a place or position)
outgoing (leaving a place or a position)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "direction"):
northwest (the direction corresponding to the northwestward compass point)
west (the direction corresponding to the westward cardinal compass point)
southwest (the direction corresponding to the southwestward compass point)
south (the direction corresponding to the southward cardinal compass point)
southeast (the direction corresponding to the southeastward compass point)
east (the direction corresponding to the eastward cardinal compass point)
northeast (the direction corresponding to the northeastward compass point)
north (the direction corresponding to the northward cardinal compass point)
compass north; magnetic north; north (the direction in which a compass needle points)
compass point; point (any of 32 horizontal directions indicated on the card of a compass)
seaward (the direction toward the sea)
leeward (the direction in which the wind is blowing)
windward (the direction from which the wind is coming)
opposition (a direction opposite to another)
orientation (position or alignment relative to points of the compass or other specific directions)
frontage (the direction in which something (such as a building) faces)
Context examples:
At once there came running to her from all directions a pack of great wolves.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
Researchers say the electrification of Titan’s sands could explain why dunes on the moon, some of which are more than 90 meters tall, form in the opposite direction of the prevailing winds.
('Electric Sands' Cover Titan, VOA News)
He rose up without delay, eager to start on his way and to reach the castle of Stromberg, but he had no idea in which direction he ought to go.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
This phenomenon, with the field alternating in direction, has never been seen before in the halo of a galaxy.
(Giant magnetic ropes seen in Whale Galaxy's halo, National Science Foundation)
A study led researchers to suggest that a gene variant may be the key, perhaps providing a new direction toward developing a treatment.
(Unique case of disease resistance reveals possible Alzheimer’s treatment, National Institutes of Health)
Situated on or along or in the direction of an axis.
(Axial, NCI Thesaurus)
The R-groups (side chains) of neighbouring residues in a b-strand point in opposite directions; beta sheets can be parallel, anti-parallel or mixed.
(Beta Sheet, NCI Thesaurus)
The fraction of beam intensity being lost per unit length of the transmitting material in a chosen x direction.
(Attenuation Coefficient, NCI Thesaurus)
When you take antibiotics, follow the directions carefully.
(Antibiotics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Reactive or functioning or allowing movement in two usually opposite directions.
(Bidirectional, NCI Thesaurus)
