direction

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Pointing toward

Nouns

1. direction, bearing, course, set, drift, tenor, orientation, tendency; incidence; tack, aim, line of fire; collimation. See straightness.

2. point of the compass, cardinal points: north, northward, northeast, northwest; east, eastward, orient, sunrise; south, southward, southeast, southwest; west, westward, occident, sunset; rhumb, azimuth, vector, line of collimation; arrow.

3. line, path, course, road, range, quarter, line of march; alignment. See motion, travel.

4. (device for changing direction) helm, rudder, joystick; needle, compass; guiding star, loadstar, lodestar, polestar, North Star, Polaris; cynosure; crosshair.

5. (one who steers) director, guide, cicerone, pilot, helmsman, steersman; driver, Jehu, charioteer.

Verbs

1. direct, tend, incline; take aim, point toward, face, aim at, draw a bead on, zero in on, level at, set one's sights on; go toward, set out for, head for, make [a beeline] for, steer toward; keep or hold a course; be bound for, bend one's steps toward; direct, steer, bend, or shape one's course; go straight [to the point].

2. ascertain one's direction, orient, get one's bearings, see which way the wind blows; box the compass; follow one's nose; lock on.

3. lead or show the way, take the lead, lead on; guide, steer, pilot; take the helm; take, hold, have, or handle the reins.

4. direct oneself toward, head, steer, go, or make for, make one's course for, strike out for, make a beeline for.

Adjectives

1. direct, straight, undeviating, unswerving, straightforward; directed or pointing toward, bound for. Informal, every which way.

2. northern, boreal; southern, austral; eastern, oriental; western, occidental; northeastern, northwestern, southeastern, southwestern.

3. directional; north-, south-, east-, or westbound.

Adverbs

1. directly, directionally, straight, northward, northerly, etc.; hither, thither, whither; straight as an arrow, as the crow flies, point-blank, head-on, in a line with; full tilt at; before the wind, windward, leeward; in all directions, hither and thither; here and there, everywhere, far and near; in all manner of ways, every which way.

2. north, northward[s], northerly; south, southward[s], southerly; east, eastward[s], easterly; west, westward[s], westerly; northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest, etc.

3. clockwise, counterclockwise, widdershins.

Prepositions — through, via, by [the] way of; toward.

Quotations — Go West, young man, and grow up with the country (Greeley), But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun (Shakespeare), The mysterious East, perfumed like a flower, silent like death, dark like a grave (Joseph Conrad), Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet (Rudyard Kipling), The spirit of the West, the modern spirit, is a Greek discovery (Edith Hamilton).

Antonyms, see deviation.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [A position]

Syn. point of the compass, objective, bearing, course, way, orientation, heading, route, path, track, region, area, road, place, spot; see also route 2 , way 2 .

Points of the compass include: north, N, south, S, east, E, west, W, NE, NW, SE, SW, NNE, NNW, SSE, SSW, ENE, ESE, WNW, WSW, E by N, E by S, W by N, W by S, N by E, S by E, N by W, S by W, NE by E, NE by N, NW by N, NW by W, SE by E, SE by S, SW by W, SW by S.

2. [Supervision]

Syn. management, superintendence, control; see administration 1 , regulation 1 .

3. [An order]

Syn. charge, regulation, injunction; see command 1 .

4. [A tendency]

Syn. bias, bent, proclivity, trend; see drift 1 , inclination 1 .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

1. management orchestration, guidance, control, supervision, leadership, administration, care, command.

2. point of the compass course, way, orientation, bearing, heading, route, tack, trajectory.

3. instruction guidance, advice, specifications, prescription, guidelines, recipe.

4. order command, charge, instruction.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun 1. Authoritative control over the affairs of others: administration, government, management, superintendence, supervision. See OVER. 2. The continuous exercise of authority over a political unit: administration, control, governance, government, rule. See CONTROL, POLITICS. 3. An act or instance of guiding: guidance, lead, leadership, management. See AFFECT. 4. An authoritative indication to be obeyed: behest, bidding, charge, command, commandment, dictate, directive, injunction, instruction (often used in plural), mandate, order, word. See OVER, WORDS.