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Say What? Direct Questions vs. Reported Dialogue
A direct question is when you ask a question by speaking directly (e.g. “How are you doing today?”). Reported dialogue is when you report what someone else says (e.g. “Joan asked how you’re doing today.”). Reported dialogue usually uses the third person point of view. Direct Questions Direct questions usually include interrogative pronouns or adverbs. Interrogative pronouns and adverbs include words like as who, what, …
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RELATED WORDS

control, handle, lead, conduct, keep, supervise, run, advise, operate, guide, deliver, tell, warn, inform, instruct, command, address, order, head, set

Origin of direct

1325–75; Middle English direct (adj., adv.), directen (v.) (< Anglo-French) < Latin dīrēctus, dērēctus (the latter probably the orig. form, later reanalyzed as dī- di-2), past participle of dērigere to align, straighten, guide (dē- de- + -rigere, combining form of regere to guide, rule)
Related formsdi·rect·a·ble, adjectivedi·rect·ness, nounpre·di·rect, verb (used with object)self-di·rect·ing, adjectivesem·i·di·rect, adjectivesem·i·di·rect·ness, noun

Synonyms for direct

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR direct ON THESAURUS.COM
18. open, sincere, outspoken.

Synonym study

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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for directing

Contemporary Examples of directing

Historical Examples of directing

  • The easier task, that of directing the machine, is left to the husband.'

  • Shall he have the pleasure of directing the messenger to ask if there are any letters for you?'

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

  • The latter took the despatch, and opened it, directing Jenkins to sign the paper.

    The Channings

    Mrs. Henry Wood

  • The mate had been directing the firing in this extreme necessity.

  • An elderly lady was playing the violin and directing her steps.

    A Singer from the Sea

    Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr

British Dictionary definitions for directing

direct

verb (mainly tr)

to regulate, conduct, or control the affairs of
(also intr) to give commands or orders with authority to (a person or group)he directed them to go away
to tell or show (someone) the way to a place
to aim, point, or cause to move towards a goal
to address (a letter, parcel, etc)
to address (remarks, words, etc)to direct comments at someone
(also intr) to provide guidance to (actors, cameramen, etc) in the rehearsal of a play or the filming of a motion picture
(also intr)
  1. to conduct (a piece of music or musicians), usually while performing oneself
  2. another word (esp US) for conduct (def. 9)

adjective

without delay or evasion; straightforwarda direct approach
without turning aside; uninterrupted; shortest; straighta direct route
without intervening persons or agencies; immediatea direct link
honest; frank; candida direct answer
(usually prenominal) precise; exacta direct quotation
diametricalthe direct opposite
in an unbroken line of descent, as from father to son over succeeding generationsa direct descendant
(of government, decisions, etc) by or from the electorate rather than through representatives
logic maths (of a proof) progressing from the premises to the conclusion, rather than eliminating the possibility of the falsehood of the conclusionCompare indirect proof
astronomy moving from west to east on the celestial sphereCompare retrograde (def. 4a)
  1. of or relating to direct current
  2. (of a secondary induced current) having the same direction as the primary current
music
  1. (of motion) in the same directionSee motion (def. 9)
  2. (of an interval or chord) in root position; not inverted

adverb

directly; straighthe went direct to the office
Derived Formsdirectness, noun

Word Origin for direct

C14: from Latin dīrectus; from dīrigere to guide, from dis- apart + regere to rule
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for directing

direct

adj.

late 14c., from Latin directus "straight," past participle of dirigere "set straight" (see direct (v.)).

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). Cf. 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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper