All 19 Uses of
direct
in
Persuasion, by Jane Austen
- I will go and tell Charles, and get ready directly.†
Chpt 7directly = in a short time
- Once she did contrive to push him away, but the boy had the greater pleasure in getting upon her back again directly.†
Chpt 9
- "No!" he replied impressively, "there is nothing worth my staying for;" and he was gone directly.†
Chpt 20
- On Friday morning she meant to go very early to Lady Russell, and accomplish the necessary communication; and she would have gone directly after breakfast, but that Mrs Clay was also going out on some obliging purpose of saving her sister trouble, which determined her to wait till she might be safe from such a companion.†
Chpt 22directly = immediately
- "By all means, my dear," cried Mrs Musgrove, "go home directly, and take care of yourself, that you may be fit for the evening.†
Chpt 23 *
- Thirteen years had seen her mistress of Kellynch Hall, presiding and directing with a self-possession and decision which could never have given the idea of her being younger than she was.†
Chpt 1
- , they happened to say, that her brother, Captain Wentworth, is just returned to England, or paid off, or something, and is coming to see them almost directly; and most unluckily it came into mamma's head, when they were gone, that Wentworth, or something very like it, was the name of poor Richard's captain at one time; I do not know when or where, but a great while before he died, poor fellow!†
Chpt 6
- His father very much wished him to meet Captain Wentworth, and there being no sufficient reason against it, he ought to go; and it ended in his making a bold, public declaration, when he came in from shooting, of his meaning to dress directly, and dine at the other house.†
Chpt 7
- After securing accommodations, and ordering a dinner at one of the inns, the next thing to be done was unquestionably to walk directly down to the sea.†
Chpt 11
- Captain Harville had taken his present house for half a year; his taste, and his health, and his fortune, all directing him to a residence inexpensive, and by the sea; and the grandeur of the country, and the retirement of Lyme in the winter, appeared exactly adapted to Captain Benwick's state of mind.†
Chpt 11
- Anne avoided a direct reply, but it was just the circumstance which she considered as not merely unnecessary to be communicated, but as what ought to be suppressed.†
Chpt 12
- Captain Benwick had been seen flying by their house, with a countenance which showed something to be wrong; and they had set off immediately, informed and directed as they passed, towards the spot.†
Chpt 12
- Anne enquired after Captain Benwick, Mary's face was clouded directly.†
Chpt 14
- I have really a curiosity to see the person who can give occasion to such directly opposite notions.†
Chpt 14 *
- This was the letter, directed to "Charles Smith, Esq. Tunbridge Wells," and dated from London, as far back as July, 1803:— "Dear Smith,—I have received yours.†
Chpt 21 *
- No. It does not come to me in quite so direct a line as that; it takes a bend or two, but nothing of consequence.†
Chpt 21
- My line of conduct will be more direct.†
Chpt 21
- Miss Elliot was to have the honour of calling on Mrs Musgrove in the course of the morning; and Anne walked off with Charles and Mary, to go and see her and Henrietta directly.†
Chpt 22
- And there, as they slowly paced the gradual ascent, heedless of every group around them, seeing neither sauntering politicians, bustling housekeepers, flirting girls, nor nursery-maids and children, they could indulge in those retrospections and acknowledgements, and especially in those explanations of what had directly preceded the present moment, which were so poignant and so ceaseless in interest.†
Chpt 23
Definitions:
-
(1)
(direct as in: directly above; or buy direct) without anything in between -- whether in time, space, or involvement
-
(2)
(direct as in: gave a direct answer) straightforward -- often clear, open, or blunt in speech or behavior
-
(3)
(direct as in: direct a question; or direct a film) to guide, aim, or manage -- such as actions, attention, speech, a project or company
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(4)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Direct can take on many specialized meanings not included in this dictionary.As an adjective or adverb, direct usually means there is a clear or straight connection with nothing in the way. It can also mean easy to understand, without confusion. For example:- Direct action – taking quick and clear steps to make something happen
- Direct descendant – someone who comes straight from an ancestor, like a grandchild
- Direct line (in genealogy) – a family connection that goes straight from one generation to the next
- Direct deposit – money that is sent straight into a bank account
- Direct object – in a sentence, the person or thing that receives the action of the verb
- Direct kick – in sports, a kick where the ball can go straight into the goal without touching another player
- Direct cost – a cost that comes straight from making a product or providing a service
- Direct investment – putting money directly into a company or project
- Direct elections – when people vote for leaders without going through an extra step
- Direct current (DC) – a type of electric flow that moves in only one direction
As a verb, most all of the senses of direct involve giving orders or aiming.