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directional

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Of or relating to guidance or help.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

derehkshuhnuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

dɚˈɛkʃənəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Relating to direction toward a (nonspatial) goal

    “He tried to explain the directional trends of modern science.”

  2. Relating to or indicating directions in space

  3. Of or relating to guidance or help.

noun

  1. Something that indicates direction, such as a vehicle's turn signal.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Relating to direction toward a (nonspatial) goal

Used this way, directional is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“He tried to explain the directional trends of modern science.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use directional

  • “He tried to explain the directional trends of modern science.”adjective
  • “A directional microphone.”adjective

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

directional selectiondirectional stabilitydirectional antennadirectional controlhighly directionaldirectional couplerdirectional movementdirectional information

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • directional mikenounCompound term

    A microphone that is designed to receive sound from a particular direction.

  • directional antennanounCompound term

    An antenna that transmits or receives signals only in a narrow angle.

  • directional microphonenounCompound term

    A microphone that is designed to receive sound from a particular direction.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: something that indicates direction

directive

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.