direct

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dīrectus, perfect passive participle of dīrigō (“straighten, direct”), from dis- (“asunder, in pieces, apart, in two”) + regō (“make straight, rule”). Compare dress.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d(a)ɪˈɹɛkt/, /dəˈɹɛkt/, /daɪ̯əˈɹɛkt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛkt
• Hyphenation: di‧rect

Adjective

direct (comparative more direct, superlative most direct)

1. Proceeding without deviation or interruption.
2. Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by the short or shortest way to a point or end.

   the most direct route between two buildings

3. Straightforward; sincere.
   • c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene ii]:

     Be even and direct with me.

4. Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous.
   • 1689 December (indicated as 1690)​, [John Locke], chapter 1, in Two Treatises of Government: […], London: […] Awnsham Churchill, […], OCLC 83985187:

     He nowhere, that I know, says it in direct words.

   • 1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England

     a direct and avowed interference with elections

5. In the line of descent; not collateral.

   a descendant in the direct line

6. (astronomy) In the direction of the general planetary motion, or from west to east; in the order of the signs; not retrograde; said of the motion of a celestial body.
7. (political science) Pertaining to, or effected immediately by, action of the people through their votes instead of through one or more representatives or delegates.

   direct nomination; direct legislation

8. (aviation, travel) having a single flight number.

Synonyms

• (proceeding uninterrupted): immediate
• (express, plain, unambiguous): explicit, patent, univocal; see also Thesaurus:explicit

Antonyms

• indirect

Derived terms

Derived terms

• direct action
• direct current
• direct flight
• direct initiative

• direct object
• direct provision
• direct quote

Translations

Straight, constant, without interruption

• Albanian: drejtë (sq)
• Asturian: direutu
• Belarusian: прамы́ (pramý), непасрэ́дны (njepasrédny)
• Bulgarian: пряк (bg) (prjak), непосре́дствен (bg) (neposrédstven)
• Catalan: directe (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 直接 (zh) (zhíjiē)

  Wu: 直接 (zeq jiq)

• Cornish: didro, syth
• Czech: přímý (cs)
• Esperanto: rekta (eo)
• Finnish: suora (fi)
• French: direct (fr)
• Friulian: dret
• Galician: directo
• German: direkt (de), unmittelbar (de)
• Greek: άμεσος (el) (ámesos), απευθείας (el) (apeftheías)
• Haitian Creole: dirèk
• Hindi: सीधा (hi) (sīdhā)
• Hungarian: közvetlen (hu), egyenes (hu), direkt (hu)
• Interlingua: directe
• Italian: diretto (it)
• Japanese: 直接の (ja) (ちょくせつの, chokusetsu no)

• Korean: 직접적 (ko) (jikjeopjeok), 직접의 (ko) (jikjeobui)
• Latin: dīrectus, prorsus (la)
• Macedonian: директен (direkten), непосреден (neposreden)
• Maori: horipū, tohitū, pūkaka, arorangi
• Norwegian: direkt
• Persian: مستقیم‎ (fa) (mostaqim), راست‎ (fa) (râst)
• Portuguese: directo (pt), direto (pt)
• Romanian: direct (ro)
• Russian: прямо́й (ru) (prjamój), непосре́дственный (ru) (neposrédstvennyj), постоя́нный (ru) (postojánnyj) (e.g. current)
• Scots: airt
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: дѝректан, не̏посредан

  Roman: dìrektan (sh), nȅposredan (sh)

• Slovak: priamy
• Slovene: direkten, neposreden
• Spanish: directo (es)
• Swedish: direkt (sv), omedelbar (sv)
• Tajik: мустақим (tg) (mustaqim)
• Turkish: doğrudan doğruya (tr)
• Ukrainian: прями́й (uk) (prjamýj), безпосере́дній (uk) (bezposerédnij)
• Urdu: سیدھا‎ (sīdhā)
• Welsh: uniongyrchol (cy), syth (cy)

Adverb

direct (comparative more direct, superlative most direct)

1. Directly.
   • 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate 2010, p. 346:

     Presumably Mary is to carry messages that she, Anne, is too delicate to convey direct.

Verb

direct (third-person singular simple present directs, present participle directing, simple past and past participle directed)

1. To manage, control, steer.

   to direct the affairs of a nation or the movements of an army

2. To aim (something) at (something else).

   They directed their fire towards the men on the wall.

   He directed his question to the room in general.

3. To point out or show to (somebody) the right course or way; to guide, as by pointing out the way.

   He directed me to the left-hand road.

   • 1882, John Lubbock, Flowers, Fruits and Leaves

     the next points to which I will direct your attention

4. To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior; to order.

   She directed them to leave immediately.

   • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The Merry VViues of VVindsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene ii]:

     I'll first direct my men what they shall do.

5. (dated) To put a direction or address upon; to mark with the name and residence of the person to whom anything is sent.

   to direct a letter

Related terms

Related terms →

• adroit
• direction
• directly
• director

• dirge
• dirigible
• dress

Translations

to manage, control, steer

• Asturian: dirixir
• Bulgarian: ръководя (bg) (rǎkovodja), управлявам (bg) (upravljavam)
• Catalan: dirigir (ca)
• Danish: dirigere, lede
• Esperanto: gvidi, aldirekti
• Finnish: ohjata (fi)
• Galician: dirixir (gl)
• German: beaufsichtigen (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: εὐθύνω (euthúnō)

• Hebrew: ניהל‎ (nehél)
• Ido: direktar (io)
• Irish: deachtaigh
• Persian: اداره کردن‎ (fa) (edâre kardan), رایانیدن‎ (fa) (râyânidan)
• Portuguese: dirigir (pt)
• Russian: управля́ть (ru) impf (upravljátʹ)
• Sanskrit: राष्टि (rāṣṭi)
• Slovak: riadiť
• Spanish: dirigir (es)
• Swedish: leda (sv), styra (sv)
• Ukrainian: керувати (keruvaty)

to be in charge of the direction of a film

• Arabic: أَخْرَجَ‎ (ʾaḵraja)
• Esperanto: reĝisori
• Hungarian: rendez (hu)

• Russian: режиссировать (ru) (režissirovatʹ)
• Slovak: režírovať
• Swedish: regissera (sv)

to be in charge of the direction of a play

• Arabic: أَخْرَجَ‎ (ʾaḵraja)
• Danish: inscenesætte
• French: mettre en scène (fr)
• German: inszenieren (de)

• Hungarian: rendez (hu)
• Norwegian: sette i scene
• Slovak: režírovať

to aim at

• Bulgarian: упътвам (bg) (upǎtvam), насочвам (bg) (nasočvam)
• Catalan: adreçar (ca)
• Danish: rette
• Finnish: tähdätä (fi)
• Greek: απευθύνω (el) (apefthýno), απευθύνομαι (el) (apefthýnomai) (at a person)
• Hebrew: כיוון‎ (he) (kivén)
• Maori: whakangoto, whakakeko (of a gun)

• Persian: هدایت کردن‎ (fa)
• Polish: kierować (pl)
• Portuguese: direcionar (pt)
• Russian: направля́ть (ru) impf (napravljátʹ), напра́вить (ru) pf (naprávitʹ), наце́ливать (ru) impf (nacélivatʹ), наце́лить (ru) pf (nacélitʹ)
• Slovak: mieriť, namieriť, adresovať, upriamiť
• Swedish: rikta (sv)
• Ukrainian: скеровувати (skerovuvaty)

to order

• French: ordonner (fr)
• German: befehlen (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: συντάσσω (suntássō)

• Plautdietsch: befälen
• Slovak: nariadiť, nariaďovať

Anagrams

• Credit, credit, triced

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French direct, from Latin dīrēctus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /diˈrɛkt/

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: di‧rect
• Rhymes: -ɛkt

Adjective

direct (comparative directer, superlative directst)

1. direct, immediate
2. direct, blunt, frank

Inflection

Inflection of direct
uninflected	direct
inflected	directe
comparative	directer
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		direct	directer	het directst het directste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	directe	directere	directste
	n. sing.	direct	directer	directste
	plural	directe	directere	directste
definite		directe	directere	directste
partitive		directs	directers	—

Adverb

direct

1. immediately

Synonyms

• onmiddellijk
• meteen
• rechtstreeks

Derived terms

• drek

Descendants

• Afrikaans: direk
• → Papiamentu: dirèkt

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /di.ʁɛkt/

• Audio

  (file)

• Homophones: directe, directes, directs

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin dīrectus. Doublet of droit, which was inherited.

Adjective

direct (feminine singular directe, masculine plural directs, feminine plural directes)

1. direct

Etymology 2

From directement.

Adverb

direct

1. (colloquial) directly

   Si t'as pas envie d'y aller, dis-le direct.

   • 'If you don't want to go, say it straight up.'

Derived terms

• directement
• en direct

Related terms

• diriger
• directeur
• direction

See also

• droit

Anagrams

• crédit
• décrit
• dicter

Further reading

• “direct” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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Norman

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dīrectus, perfect passive participle of dīrigō, dīrigere (“straighten, direct”). Compare the inherited drait, drouait.

Adjective

direct m

1. (Jersey) direct

Derived terms

• directément (“directly”)

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Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French direct, Latin directus. Compare the inherited doublet drept.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /diˈrekt/

Adjective

direct m or n (feminine singular directă, masculine plural direcți, feminine and neuter plural directe)

1. direct
2. head-on

Declension

Declension of direct

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	direct		directă	direcți	directe
	definite	directul		directa	direcții	directele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	direct		directe	direcți	directe
	definite	directului		directei	direcților	directelor

Adverb

direct

1. directly
2. straight