All 44 Uses of
direct
in
Crime and Punishment, by Dostoyevsky
- In a couple of minutes Nastasya returned with the soup, and announced that the tea would be ready directly.
Chpt 2.3 *directly = in a short time
- I can't come in; I am so weak that I shall fall down directly.
Chpt 2.7directly = immediately; or in a short time
- And directly afterwards she ordered the horses to be harnessed to drive to the town immediately after dinner.
Chpt 3.3directly = immediately
- "That's certainly true," said Dounia, looking directly and sternly at her brother.
Chpt 3.3directly = straight (exactly where stated; used for emphasis)
- We shall see…. directly.
Chpt 3.4directly = immediately
- I will be back directly.
Chpt 3.6directly = in a short time
- Don't be uneasy, Rodion Romanovitch, if I were working for my own advantage, I would not have spoken out so directly.
Chpt 4.1 *directly = in a straightforward manner
- "I shall be back directly," he shouted to the horror-stricken mother, and he ran out of the room.
Chpt 4.3directly = in a short time
- Kindly observe this: if I were not so entirely convinced I should not, you may be sure, with my experience venture to accuse you so directly.
Chpt 5.3directly = in a straightforward manner
- Raskolnikov seated himself directly facing Porfiry, and looked at him without flinching.
Chpt 6.1directly = exactly where stated (used for emphasis)
- But anyway I like a direct question.
Chpt 6.3direct = straightforward (open and honest even if it makes someone uncomfortable)
- His rooms were not entered directly from the passage, but through the landlady's two almost empty rooms.
Chpt 6.5 *directly = straight (without anything in between)
- She never asked a direct question, but began by smiling and rubbing her hands and then, if she were obliged to ascertain something—for instance, when Svidrigailov would like to have the wedding—she would begin by interested and almost eager questions about Paris and the court life there, and only by degrees brought the conversation round to Third Street.
Chpt 6.6direct = straightforward (specific and to the point)
- It annoys me that all those stupid brutish faces will be gaping at me directly, pestering me with their stupid questions, which I shall have to answer—they'll point their fingers at me….
Chpt 6.8directly = straight (exactly where stated; used for emphasis)
- She told them that, although he seemed so wrapped up in himself and, as it were, shut himself off from everyone—he took a very direct and simple view of his new life; that he understood his position, expected nothing better for the time, had no ill-founded hopes (as is so common in his position) and scarcely seemed surprised at anything in his surroundings, so unlike anything he had known before.
Chpt Epil.direct = straightforward
- "No, I am studying," answered the young man, somewhat surprised at the grandiloquent style of the speaker and also at being so directly addressed.†
Chpt 1.2
- Then there will be the hospital directly (that's always the luck of those girls with respectable mothers, who go wrong on the sly) and then...again the hospital... drink...the taverns...and more hospital, in two or three years—a wreck, and her life over at eighteen or nineteen....Have not I seen cases like that?†
Chpt 1.4
- He could never understand and explain to himself why, when he was tired and worn out, when it would have been more convenient for him to go home by the shortest and most direct way, he had returned by the Hay Market where he had no need to go.†
Chpt 1.5
- Oh, well, brother, but we have to correct and direct nature, and, but for that, we should drown in an ocean of prejudice.†
Chpt 1.6
- Raskolnikov had unwarily fixed a very long and direct look on him, so that he felt positively affronted.†
Chpt 2.1 *
- "And pray, what time were you directed to appear, sir?" shouted the assistant superintendent, seeming for some unknown reason more and more aggrieved.†
Chpt 2.1
- It was an instant of full, direct, purely instinctive joy.†
Chpt 2.1
- And what was most agonising—it was more a sensation than a conception or idea, a direct sensation, the most agonising of all the sensations he had known in his life.†
Chpt 2.1
- He was walking with three friends, who left him only at the gate, and he asked the porters to direct him, in the presence of the friends.†
Chpt 2.1
- You shall have the account directly.†
Chpt 2.3
- Yes, you had a fine sleep, brother, it's almost evening, it will be six o'clock directly.†
Chpt 2.3
- We will open it directly.†
Chpt 2.3
- Do you know what I'll do with you directly?†
Chpt 2.6
- "Listen, Razumihin," began Raskolnikov, "I want to tell you plainly: I've just been at a death-bed, a clerk who died...I gave them all my money...and besides I've just been kissed by someone who, if I had killed anyone, would just the same...in fact I saw someone else there...with a flame-coloured feather...but I am talking nonsense; I am very weak, support me...we shall be at the stairs directly..."†
Chpt 2.7
- You lead such a solitary life that you know nothing of matters that concern you directly.†
Chpt 3.5
- In the first place, I wanted to make your personal acquaintance, as I have already heard a great deal about you that is interesting and flattering; secondly, I cherish the hope that you may not refuse to assist me in a matter directly concerning the welfare of your sister, Avdotya Romanovna.†
Chpt 4.1
- Pyotr Petrovitch belonged to that class of persons, on the surface very polite in society, who make a great point of punctiliousness, but who, directly they are crossed in anything, are completely disconcerted, and become more like sacks of flour than elegant and lively men of society.†
Chpt 4.2
- I should like to make a chain of evidence such as twice two are four, it ought to be a direct, irrefutable proof!†
Chpt 4.5
- I might indirectly assist the cause of enlightenment and propaganda.†
Chpt 5.1indirectly = done in a way that is not the shortest or quickeststandard prefix: The prefix "in-" in indirectly means not and reverses the meaning of directly. This is the same pattern you see in words like invisible, incomplete, and insecure.
- I'll go directly and you may be sure I won't be in your way.†
Chpt 5.1
- They'll bring the pancakes directly.†
Chpt 5.2
- Seeing that for such direct accusation before witnesses, if false or even mistaken, I should myself in a certain sense be made responsible, I am aware of that.†
Chpt 5.3
- I wanted to go back directly, but I kept thinking that...you would come.†
Chpt 5.4
- I mean to go to him directly to find out what he meant by that.†
Chpt 6.1
- In the first place, to arrest you so directly is not to my interest.†
Chpt 6.2
- And in the third place I've come to you with a direct and open proposition—that you should surrender and confess.†
Chpt 6.2
- You had better tell me, if you come here to drink, and directed me twice to come here to you, why did you hide, and try to get away just now when I looked at the window from the street?†
Chpt 6.3
- "Well, after what you have said, I am fully convinced that you have come to Petersburg with designs on my sister," he said directly to Svidrigailov, in order to irritate him further.†
Chpt 6.4
- Directly I saw it I cried out to myself: 'There, foolish one,' I thought, 'that's what he is busy about; that's the solution of the mystery!†
Chpt 6.7 *
Definitions:
-
(1)
(direct as in: depart directly) without delay, or in the quickest manner, or without going somewhere else firstYou may see the term direct flight used in a technical manner that is not as quick as a non-stop flight. In technical usage, a direct flight from Los Angeles to New York could stop at a city on the way, but you would not get off the plane during the stop.
-
(2)
(direct as in: directly above; or buy direct from) straight (exactly where stated); or without involvement of anything in betweenThe 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
-
(3)
(direct as in: was direct in my instructions) straightforward (uncomplicated or simple -- perhaps also indicating openness and honesty, or little concern for others' feelings)
-
(4)
(direct as in: directed her question to) to indicate direction; or to cause movement or focus in a direction or towards an objectThe 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
-
(5)
(direct as in: directed the jury to...) give instructions or commands
-
(6)
(direct as in: directed the movie) supervise, control, or to be in charge of
-
(7)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Direct can take on many specialized meanings not included in this dictionary.As an adjective or adverb, most all senses of direct involve an uninterrupted connection and/or clarity (clear, unambiguous communication) as in:
- direct action
- direct descendant
- direct line (with regard to genealogy)
- direct deposit
- direct object
- direct kick
- direct cost
- direct investment
- direct elections
- direct current
As a verb, most all of the senses of direct involve giving orders or aiming.