- Proceeding without deviation or interruption; straight and short
"a direct hit"; "a direct route"; "a direct flight"
- Having no intervening persons, agents, conditions
"in direct contact with the voters"; "direct exposure to the disease"; "a direct link"; "the direct cause of the accident"; "direct vote"; "in direct sunlight";
- unmediated
- Straightforward in means, manner, behaviour, language or action
"a direct approach"; "a direct question"; "a direct response"
- Being an immediate result or consequence
"a direct result of the accident"
- In precisely the same words used by a writer or speaker
"a direct quotation";
- verbatim
- Lacking compromising or mitigating elements
"the direct opposite";
- exact
- In a straight unbroken line of descent from parent to child
"a direct descendant of the king"; "direct heredity";
- lineal
- (astronomy) moving from west to east on the celestial sphere; or — for planets — around the sun in the same direction as the Earth
"Most planets in our solar system have direct orbits"
- (mathematics) similar in nature, effect or relation to another quantity
"a term is in direct proportion to another term if it increases (or decreases) as the other increases (or decreases)"
- (of a current) flowing in one direction only
"direct current"
- Command with authority
"He directed the children to do their homework"
- Govern or manage
"She directs a large corporation"
- (performing arts) guide the actors in (plays and films)
"Spielberg directed the sci-fi blockbuster"
- Intend (something) to move towards a certain goal, or direct to a specific place or group of people
"criticism directed at her superior"; "direct your anger towards others, not towards yourself";
- target, aim, place, point
- Give directions to; point somebody into a certain direction
"I directed them towards the town hall"
- Plan and control how a complex undertaking is done
"he directed the robbery";
- mastermind, engineer, organize, organise [Brit], orchestrate
- Cause to go somewhere
"He directed all his energies into his dissertation";
- send
- Accompany somebody somewhere to show them the way
"we directed him to our chief";
- lead, take, conduct, guide
- Control or determine the movement, direction, or course of something
"The captain directed the ship through the strait";
- steer, maneuver [US], manoeuvre [Brit, Cdn], point, head, guide, channelize, channelise [Brit]
- Point or cause to go (blows, weapons, or objects such as photographic equipment) towards
"The photographer directed her camera at the sunset";
- aim, take, train, take aim
- Specifically design a product, event, or activity for a certain public
"The marketing team directed the campaign to appeal to young adults";
- calculate, aim
- Have the leading position, as in the performance of a composition
"direct an orchestra";
- conduct, lead
- Put an address on (an envelope)
"She directed the letter to her grandmother";
- address
Derived forms: directed, directing, directs
See also: absolute, bluff, blunt, brutal, candid, directness, door-to-door, exact, flatfooted, flat-footed, forthright, frank, free-spoken, give the sack [informal], honest, honorable [US], honourable [Brit, Cdn], immediate, man-to-man, matrilineal, matrilinear, no-nonsense, nonstop, non-stop, outspoken, patrilineal, patrilinear, plain, plainspoken, point-blank, pointed, primary, related, send away, square, straight, straightforward, straight-from-the-shoulder, straightness, through, undeviating, unilateral, unswerving, unvarnished, upfront
Type of: act, apprise, care, command, control, create, deal, designate, destine, displace, do, enjoin, execute, handle, instruct, intend, label, make, manage, move, order, perform, plan, position, say, specify, tell
Antonym: alternating, collateral, indirect, inverse, retrograde
Encyclopedia: Direct, indirect, and induced employment