orientation

[awr-ee-uhn-tey-shuhn, -en-, ohr-]

noun

1. the act or process of orienting.

2. the state of being oriented.

3. an introduction, as to guide one in adjusting to new surroundings, employment, activity, or the like.

   New employees receive two days of orientation.

4. Psychology, Psychiatry.,  the ability to locate oneself in one's environment with reference to time, place, and people.

5. one's position in relation to true north, to points on the compass, or to a specific place or object.

6. the ascertainment of one's true position, as in a novel situation, with respect to attitudes, judgments, etc.

7. Chemistry.

   1. the relative positions of certain atoms or groups, especially in aromatic compounds.

   2. the determination of the position of substituted atoms or groups in a compound.

orientation

/ ˌɔːrɪɛnˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of orienting or the state of being oriented

2. position or positioning with relation to the points of the compass or other specific directions

3. the adjustment or alignment of oneself or one's ideas to surroundings or circumstances

4. Also called: orientation course. 

   1. a course, programme, lecture, etc, introducing a new situation or environment

   2. ( as modifier )

      an orientation talk

5. psychol the knowledge of one's own temporal, social, and practical circumstances in life

6. basic beliefs or preferences

   sexual orientation

7. biology the change in position of the whole or part of an organism in response to a stimulus, such as light

8. chem the relative dispositions of atoms, ions, or groups in molecules or crystals

9. the siting of a church on an east-west axis, usually with the altar at the E end

Other Word Forms

• orientative adjective
• nonorientation noun
• orientational adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of orientation¹

First recorded in 1830–40; orientate + -ion

Example Sentences

XL-Calibur is designed to measure the polarization of light, a property that describes the orientation of electromagnetic vibrations.

Read more on Science Daily

Learning to trust sound, timing, and orientation was challenging.

Read more on BBC

This orientation allows him to play his best football - attacking more directly, dribbling with momentum and playing passes in-field.

Read more on BBC

Mr. Payne had been a man of the left, but “I was appalled by what I learned about the Spanish left out of the Republic, and that changed my orientation toward just about everything.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Alexander had brought his compass and was using it to determine the orientation of the stage.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• direction 
• location