All 3 Uses of
direct
in
And Then There Were None
- She looked at the other three, her glance and voice had that slight suggestion of command in it that comes from having occupied a position of authority. She might have been directing which tennis sets the girls were to play in.
p. 18..2 (definition 1) *directing = supervising
- On at least two occasions I stopped cases where to my mind the accused was palpably innocent, directing the jury that there was no case.
p. 262..7 (definition 2) *directing = instructingeditor's notes: In this context, palpably is a synonym for clearly.
- All his suspicions were directed against Lombard and I pretended...
p. 269..7 (definition 3) *directed = focused
Definitions:
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(1) (direct as in: directed the movie) supervise, control, or to be in charge of
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(2) (direct as in: directed the jury to...) give instructions or commands
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(3) (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