5 meanings, 33 uses
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1 —1 use as in:
depart directly
Definition
without delay, or in the quickest manner, or without going somewhere else first
- She will be home directly, and it is better she should not see us together to-night.2.10 — Two Promises (93% in)
There are no more uses of "direct" flagged with this meaning in A Tale of Two Cities.
Typical Usage
(best examples)
2 —3 uses as in:
directly above; or buy direct from
Definition
straight (exactly where stated); or without involvement of anything in between
The exact meaning of this sense of direct is subject to its context. For example:
- "The road runs directly to Las Vegas." — straight (without varying from a straight line)
- "It was a direct hit." — exact
- "The plant is in direct sunlight." — unobstructed (without anything in between)
- "She wants a direct meeting with him." — personal (without other people in between)
- "She paid direct attention to what he was reading." — close
- "a direct gaze" — straight, steady, or focused—not a brief glance taken while generally looking at other things; not a sideways look
- ...we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—1.1 — The Period (7% in)
direct = straight (without going anywhere else first)
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- ...we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—1.1 — The Period (8% in)
- He, and his old canvas frock, and his loose stockings, and all his poor tatters of clothes, had, in a long seclusion from direct light and air, faded down to such a dull uniformity of parchment-yellow, that it would have been hard to say which was which.1.6 — The Shoemaker (13% in)
direct = straight (without going anywhere else first)
direct = unobstructed (with nothing in between)
There are no more uses of "direct" flagged with this meaning in A Tale of Two Cities.
Typical Usage
(best examples)
3 —1 use as in:
was direct in my instructions
Definition
straightforward (uncomplicated or simple — perhaps also indicating openness and honesty)
- The keeper of the wine-shop stopped to strike the wall with his hand,
and mutter a tremendous curse. No direct answer could have been half so forcible.1.5 — The Wine-shop (69% in)
direct = straightforward (specific and to the point)
There are no more uses of "direct" flagged with this meaning in A Tale of Two Cities.
Typical Usage
(best examples)
4 —1 use as in:
directed her question to
Definition
to indicate direction; or to cause movement or focus in a direction or towards an object
The exact meaning of this sense of direct is subject to its context. For example:
- "intentionally directed fire at unarmed civilians" — aimed a gun
- "directed the question to her" — aimed a question
- "directed her north" — pointed in a particular direction
- "directed attention to the 3rd paragraph" — focused attention on a particular object
- "The sound of her voice directed him to the kitchen." — guided or gave directions to someone to help them move to a particular place
- "She directed him to the airport." — gave directions to send someone to a particular place
- "She directed the boat north." — steered it
- "directed the letter to" — send a letter to a particular person by putting a name and address on it
- The English customer paid for what he had had, perplexedly counted his change, and asked, as a stranger, to be directed towards the National Palace.3.12 — Darkness (44% in)
There are no more uses of "direct" flagged with this meaning in A Tale of Two Cities.
Typical Usage
(best examples)
5 —1 use as in:
directed the jury to...
Definition
give instructions or commands
- The polite rejection of the three lumps of bread-and-cheese had quite bloated Mr. Stryver with indignation, which he afterwards turned to account in the training of the young gentlemen, by directing them to beware of the pride of Beggars, like that tutor-fellow.2.21 — Echoing Footsteps (22% in)
directing = instructing
There are no more uses of "direct" flagged with this meaning in A Tale of Two Cities.
Typical Usage
(best examples)
? —26 uses
exact meaning not specified
- This done, he went on direct to Defarge's, and went in.3.12 — Darkness (10% in)
- Without directly answering to this appeal, she sat so still when he had very gently raised her, and the hands that had not ceased to clasp his wrists were so much more steady than they had been, that she communicated some reassurance to Mr. Jarvis Lorry.1.4 — The Preparation (75% in)
- ...men and women, dipped in the puddles with little mugs of mutilated earthenware, or even with handkerchiefs from women's heads, which were squeezed dry into infants' mouths; others made small mudembankments, to stem the wine as it ran; others, directed by lookers-on up at high windows, darted here and there, to cut off little streams of wine that started away in new directions; others devoted themselves to the sodden and lee-dyed pieces of the cask, licking, and even champing the...1.5 — The Wine-shop (5% in)
- Mr. Jarvis Lorry and Miss Manette, emerging from the wine-shop thus, joined Monsieur Defarge in the doorway to which he had directed his own company just before.1.5 — The Wine-shop (63% in)
- Any strongly marked expression of face on the part of a chief actor in a scene of great interest to whom many eyes are directed, will be unconsciously imitated by the spectators.2.3 — A Disappointment (55% in)
- The prisoner came forward directly.2.3 — A Disappointment (93% in)
- Sadly, sadly, the sun rose; it rose upon no sadder sight than the man of good abilities and good emotions, incapable of their directed exercise, incapable of his own help and his own happiness, sensible of the blight on him, and resigning himself to let it eat him away.2.5 — The Jackal (99% in)
- "It will die out," said Monsieur the Marquis, glancing at his hands, "directly."2.8 — Monseigneur in the Country (9% in)
- I come direct.2.9 — The Gorgon's Head (20% in)
- On the contrary; I come direct.2.9 — The Gorgon's Head (20% in)
- The young man had taken his hand gratefully; their hands were joined as the Doctor spoke: "—any fancies, any reasons, any apprehensions, anything whatsoever, new or old, against the man she really loved—the direct responsibility thereof not lying on his head—they should all be obliterated for her sake.2.10 — Two Promises (85% in)
- Let me carry through the rest of my misdirected life, the remembrance that I opened my heart to you, last of all the world; and that there was something left in me at this time which you could deplore and pity.2.13 — The Fellow of No Delicacy (66% in)
- If your sagacity, knowledge, and experience, could put me on the right track, I might be able to do so much; unenlightened and undirected, I can do so little.2.19 — An Opinion (42% in)
- Nor, how the lightest echo of their united home, directed by herself with such a wise and elegant thrift that it was more abundant than any waste, was music to her.2.21 — Echoing Footsteps (27% in)
- At length the sun rose so high that it struck a kindly ray as of hope or protection, directly down upon the old prisoner's head.2.22 — The Sea Still Rises (64% in)
- It was known directly, to the furthest confines of the crowd.2.22 — The Sea Still Rises (66% in)
- He was fast asleep directly.2.23 — Fire Rises (36% in)
- When he had sat in his saddle some half-hour, taking note of these things, Darnay found himself confronted by the same man in authority, who directed the guard to open the barrier.3.1 — In Secret (43% in)
- And as the frantic wielders of these weapons snatched them from the stream of sparks and tore away into the streets, the same red hue was red in their frenzied eyes;—eyes which any unbrutalised beholder would have given twenty years of life, to petrify with a well-directed gun.3.2 — The Grindstone (75% in)
- The lowest, cruelest, and worst populace of a city, never without its quantity of low, cruel, and bad, were the directing spirits of the scene: noisily commenting, applauding, disapproving, anticipating, and precipitating the result, without a check.3.6 — Triumph (22% in)
- She was in a front row, by the side of a man whom he had never seen since his arrival at the Barrier, but whom he directly remembered as Defarge.3.6 — Triumph (26% in)
- The same cautious counsel directed every step that lay before him, and had prepared every inch of his road.3.6 — Triumph (44% in)
- I am going now, directly.3.9 — The Game Made (29% in)
- I mount to the cell, with a fellow-citizen who is one of the Jury, directed by a gaoler.3.9 — The Game Made (97% in)
- How high it was from the ground, how many steps it had, where he would be stood, how he would be touched, whether the touching hands would be dyed red, which way his face would be turned, whether he would be the first, or might be the last: these and many similar questions, in nowise directed by his will, obtruded themselves over and over again, countless times.3.13 — Fifty-two (25% in)
- You shall know directly.3.13 — Fifty-two (48% in)
There are no more uses of "direct" in A Tale of Two Cities.
Typical Usage
(best examples)