direction

[dih-rek-shuh n, dahy-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR direction ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act or an instance of directing.

the line along which anything lies, faces, moves, etc., with reference to the point or region toward which it is directed: The storm moved in a northerly direction.

the point or region itself: The direction is north.

a position on a line extending from a specific point toward a point of the compass or toward the nadir or the zenith.

a line of thought or action or a tendency or inclination: the direction of contemporary thought.

Usually directions. instruction or guidance for making, using, etc.: directions for baking a cake.

order; command.

management; control; guidance; supervision: a company under good direction.

a directorate.

the name and address of the intended recipient as written on a letter, package, etc.

decisions in a stage or film production as to stage business, speaking of lines, lighting, and general presentation.

the technique, act, or business of making such decisions, managing and training a cast of actors, etc.

the technique, act, or business of directing an orchestra, concert, or other musical presentation or group.

Music. a symbol or phrase that indicates in a score the proper tempo, style of performance, mood, etc.

a purpose or orientation toward a goal that serves to guide or motivate; focus: He doesn't seem to have any direction in life.

RELATED WORDS

Origin of direction

1375–1425; late Middle English direccioun (< Middle French) < Latin dīrēctiōn- (stem of dīrēctiō) “arranging in line, straightening.” See direct, -ion

Related formsdi·rec·tion·less, adjectivepre·di·rec·tion, nounself-di·rec·tion, nounsu·per·di·rec·tion, noun

Synonym study

5. See tendency.

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

Examples from the Web for directionless

Contemporary Examples of directionless

As Taitz argues, Obama himself acknowledged that he was directionless when he started college.
Donald Trump's New Obama Conspiracy Theory
Michelle Goldberg
April 26, 2011

Historical Examples of directionless

It was a fine life, but the days blurred one into the next, directionless.
Makers
Cory Doctorow

British Dictionary definitions for directionless

direction

noun

the act of directing or the state of being directed

management, control, or guidance

the work of a stage or film director

the course or line along which a person or thing moves, points, or lies

the course along which a ship, aircraft, etc, is travelling, expressed as the angle between true or magnetic north and an imaginary line through the main fore-and-aft axis of the vessel

the place towards which a person or thing is directed

a line of action; course

the name and address on a letter, parcel, etc

music the process of conducting an orchestra, choir, etc

music an instruction in the form of a word or symbol heading or occurring in the body of a passage, movement, or piece to indicate tempo, dynamics, mood, etc

(modifier) maths

(of an angle) being any one of the three angles that a line in space makes with the three positive directions of the coordinate axes. Usually given as α, β, and γ with respect to the x-, y-, and z- axes
(of a cosine) being the cosine of any of the direction angles

direction

c.1400, "orderly arrangement;" c.1500 as "action of directing," from Latin directionem (nominative directio), noun of action from past participle stem of dirigere (see direct (v.)). Meaning "course pursued by a moving object" is from 1660s. Related: Directional.

Idioms and Phrases with directionless

direction

see step in the right direction.