directive
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
An instruction or guideline that indicates how to perform an action or reach a goal.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
derehktivSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
dɚˈɛktɪv
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An instruction or guideline that indicates how to perform an action or reach a goal.
An authoritative decision from an official body, which may or may not have binding force.
adjective
That which directs; serving to direct, indicate, or guide.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An instruction or guideline that indicates how to perform an action or reach a goal.
Used this way, directive is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- 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 directive
- “The boss loves to send us directives.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Someone who controls resources and expenditures.
Without deviation.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A directive issued by the President of the United States.
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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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.