directed; directing; directs

1

**:**to cause to turn, move, or point undeviatingly or to follow a straight course

X-rays directed through the body

2

**:**to point, extend, or project in a specified line or course

direct the nozzle downward

3

a

**:**to regulate the activities or course of

directs a staff of over 200 employees

b

**:**to carry out the organizing, energizing, and supervising of

direct a project

directed a call center

c

**:**to train and lead performances of

direct a movie

directing a famous actor

d

**:**to dominate and determine the course of

… will not find it preposterous that the past should be altered by the present as much as the present is directed by the past.—T. S. Eliot

4

a

**:**to impart orally

directed the remark to her fellow senators

b

**:**to mark with the name and address of the intended recipient

c

**:**to adapt in expression so as to have particular applicability

arguments directed at the emotions

d

obsolete

**:**to write (a letter) to a person5

**:**to show or point out the way for

signs directing us to the entrance

6

**:**to request or enjoin (see enjoin sense 1) with authority

the judge directed the jury to acquit

1

**:**to act as director of a show or musical ensemble

She both acted and directed in the film.

2

**:**to point out, prescribe, or determine a course or procedure

1

a

**:**proceeding from one point to another in time or space without deviation or interruption

**:**straight

a direct line

b

**:**proceeding by the shortest way

the direct route

2

a

**:**stemming immediately from a source

direct result

b

**:**being or passing in a straight line of descent from parent to offspring

**:**lineal

direct ancestor

c

**:**having no compromising or impairing element

a direct insult

3

**:**natural, straightforward

a direct manner

asked him to be more direct

was direct in her criticism

4

a

**:**marked by absence of an intervening agency, instrumentality, or influence

making direct observations of nature

b

**:**effected or brought about by the action of the people or the electorate and not by representatives

direct democracy

c

**:**consisting of or reproducing the exact words of a speaker or writer

a direct quotation

5

**:**characterized by close logical, causal, or consequential relationship

direct evidence

6

astronomy

**:**having or being motion in the general planetary direction from west to east**:**not retrograde (see retrograde entry 1 sense 1a(1))7

**:**capable of dyeing without the aid of a mordant

**:**in a direct (see direct entry 2) way: such as

a

**:**from point to point without deviation

**:**by the shortest way

flew direct to Miami

b

**:**from the source without interruption or diversion (see diversion sense 1)

the writer must take his material direct from life—Douglas Stewart

c

**:**without an intervening agency (see agency sense 3) or step

buy direct from the manufacturer

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Merriam-Webster unabridged
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