direct

CEFRA2

/daɪˈɹɛkt/

adjective · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Straight, without turning or stopping.

  2. 02

    verb

    To control or guide someone or something.

Examples

  • He was asked to take command and direct operations.

  • I stepped outside and was bathed in the harsh, direct sunlight.

At a glance

Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /dɑɪˈɹekt/
  • /dɪˈɹɛkt/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Clear and honest, without hidden meaning.

  2. Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by the short or shortest way to a point or end.

  3. Straightforward; sincere.

More examples

In context

  • Your questions were too direct.

  • the most direct route between two buildings

  • a descendant in the direct line

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The manager asked the employee to blank all customer complaints to the service desk.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

Borrowed from Latin dīrēctus, perfect passive participle of dīrigō (“straighten, direct”), from dis- (“asunder, in pieces, apart, in two”) + regō (“make straight, rule”). Compare dress. Doublet of derecho. For the meaning development compare with Russian напра́вить (naprávitʹ, “to direct, to turn, to aim, to level, to point”), отпра́вить (otprávitʹ, “to send, to dispatch, to forward”) connected with пра́вить (právitʹ, “to govern, to rule, to drive, to steer”).