directions

noun

plural of direction
1
as in instructions
a statement of what to do that must be obeyed by those concerned we were given very specific directions for the first part of the exam

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in managements
the act or activity of looking after and making decisions about something working under the close direction of the engineering supervisor

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in compasses
a guiding or motivating purpose or principle a life that seemed to lack any direction other than the mindless pursuit of empty pleasures

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in trends
a prevailing or general movement or inclination some older people worry about the overall direction that political discourse has taken lately

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of directions Open side windows offer a panoramic view of farmland that sprawls in all directions. — Midwest Living, 6 July 2026 Bagley said chaos immediately broke out with people running in all directions. — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 6 July 2026 Send the message that clears a delay, then keep directions specific before leaving home or starting errands. — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 6 July 2026 Within these new rounded granules, the graphite flakes are randomly oriented in all directions. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 6 July 2026 The vendors circling this space entered from different directions, which is why the category still looks fragmented. — Janakiram Msv, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026 Though their creative liberties leaned in different directions, neither was a particular stickler for the truth. — Rosemary Counter, Vanity Fair, 6 July 2026 Gunfire rang out into the vehicle until both men eventually ran away in opposite directions. — Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026 Their architect, Michael Lehrer, created a striking design with a butterfly roof slanting up in two directions from the center, zigzag walls and picture windows front and back. — Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for directions
  1. instructions
  2. managements
  3. compasses
  4. trends
  5. orders
  6. operations
  7. purposes
  8. tendencies
Noun
  • Read the instructions and drop the appropriate amount of hair oil onto your palm.
    — Ariana Yaptangco, Glamour, 5 July 2026
  • Navigation instructions are presented in plenty of time and with a confident tone.
    — James Raia, Mercury News, 5 July 2026
Definition of instructions
Noun
  • These are different eras, and the respective managements are no longer the same, but something about this feels off.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 May 2026
  • Information about Spirit’s plans was equally scarce among managements of airports the airline serves.
    — David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 1 May 2026
Definition of managements
Noun
  • So many role-playing games spoonfeed you with compasses and waypoints and fourth-wall-breaking warnings.
    — Alex James Kane, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
  • As for steering a buggy to the Artemis base, compasses don’t work on the moon, and dust will adhere to optics, so NASA has pioneered plans to use Earth’s Galileo and GPS satellites to navigate.
    — Dan Vergano, Scientific American, 11 May 2026
Definition of compasses
Noun
  • The American Culture Quiz is a weekly test of our unique national traits, trends, history and people — including current events and the sights and sounds of the United States.
    — Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
  • White sneakers tend to lead the trends come spring and summer, but Styles is proof that a black pair of comfy kicks is just as wearable—with a slightly more edgy feel.
    — Reece Andavolgyi, InStyle, 5 July 2026
Definition of trends
Noun
  • Just under 35,000 removal orders have been issued in California from January through May of this year, according to TRAC, a data gathering organization at Syracuse University.
    — Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
  • Evacuation orders affecting about 300 residents in the Oak Leaf Circle area were downgraded to warnings.
    — Ruyuan Li. Summary produced by AI assistance, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of orders
Noun
  • Rodríguez Castro helps oversee GAESA, has a hand in its operations and acts as a liaison between the organization and his grandfather.
    — Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 6 July 2026
  • Catalan Fire Service head of operations Eduard Martinez said the blaze had a perimeter of 25 miles and firefighters may not be able to bring it under control on Sunday, EFE said.
    — Elena Becatoros, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of operations
Noun
  • However, StyleCaster may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
    — Katie Decker-Jacoby, StyleCaster, 2 July 2026
  • The information provided is for educational purposes and should not be construed as financial, investment or trading advice.
    — USA TODAY, USA Today, 2 July 2026
Definition of purposes
Noun
  • The same tendencies people are routinely told to correct are, in moderate form, closely tied to a busier, more exploratory style of thinking than most self-improvement advice accounts for.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
  • Plath shows up in Dederer’s book about (mostly) men who make great art and live monstrous lives (and what to do with them), but only as a woman who turns her violent tendencies against herself.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2026
Definition of tendencies

Browse Nearby Words

directionless
directions
directive
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Directions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/directions. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on directions

Nglish: Translation of directions for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All