1. (a.) Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by the short or shortest way to a point or end; as, a direct line; direct means.

2. (a.) Straightforward; not of crooked ways, or swerving from truth and openness; sincere; outspoken.

3. (a.) Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous.

4. (a.) In the line of descent; not collateral; as, a descendant in the direct line.

5. (a.) 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.

6. (v. t.) To arrange in a direct or straight line, as against a mark, or towards a goal; to point; to aim; as, to direct an arrow or a piece of ordnance.

7. (v. t.) To point out or show to (any one), as the direct or right course or way; to guide, as by pointing out the way; as, he directed me to the left-hand road.

8. (v. t.) To determine the direction or course of; to cause to go on in a particular manner; to order in the way to a certain end; to regulate; to govern; as, to direct the affairs of a nation or the movements of an army.

9. (v. t.) To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior; to order; as, he directed them to go.

10. (v. t.) To put a direction or address upon; to mark with the name and residence of the person to whom anything is sent; to superscribe; as, to direct a letter.

11. (v. i.) To give direction; to point out a course; to act as guide.

12. (n.) A character, thus [/], placed at the end of a staff on the line or space of the first note of the next staff, to apprise the performer of its situation.

Attic Ciceronian Spartan address address to administer administrate advise advocate aim aim at allude to apply appoint arrowlike articulated artless ascetic assign austere bald bare be master be responsible for beam bend bid bluff blunt born yesterday brief bring to attention bring to notice broad broaden the mind brusque buckle down call attention to call on call the shots call the signals call upon candid captain carry on carry out carry through cast catechize categorical catenated ceaseless chair charge chart a course chaste childlike cite civilize classic clean-cut clear clear as crystal clear as day clear-cut close coach coherent command commission common commonplace concatenated cond conduct conduct to confer confiding conn connected consistent constant consult with contiguous continual continued continuing continuous control counsel coxswain crisp crystal-clear crystalline cyclical dead dead ahead dead straight deal with decide declare decree define defined definite delicate demonstrate determine devote dictate diphyletic direct attention to direct to directionize directly discipline dispose distinct divert dominate downright drive dry due due north dull easy edify educate elegant endless engineer enjoin enlighten escort even exact explicit express faithful family fasten featureless fine finished firsthand fix fix on flat focus focus on forthright frank frankhearted free free-speaking free-spoken free-tongued gapless genealogical genuine give give an order give instruction give lessons in give the word govern graceful gracile ground guide guileless handle have the conn head head up heart-to-heart helm hold on homely homespun honest horizontal illumine immediate in a beeline in a line in line with inartificial incessant incline inerrable inerrant infallible inform ingenu ingenuous innocent instruct interminable irreversible issue a command issue a writ joined jointless keep kibitz lay lead lead on lead to lean level level at limpid lineal linear linked literally literatim loud and clear lucid luminous mail make go make the rules manage mandate maneuver manipulate mastermind mathematical matter-of-fact meddle mention microscopic monotonous naive native natural navigate neat never-ending next nice nonstop officer one-way open open the eyes openhearted operate ordain order