orientation
noun
Simple meaning
Position or alignment relative to points of the compass or other specific directions.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
awreeentayshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɔɹiɛnˈteɪʃən
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
Position or alignment relative to points of the compass or other specific directions
countable
The determination of the relative position of something or someone.
countable
The relative physical position or direction of something.
countable
The ability to orient, or the process of so doing.
A course introducing a new situation or environment
countable
An adjustment to a new environment.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Position or alignment relative to points of the compass or other specific directions
Used this way, orientation 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 orientation
- “New employees attend an orientation session to learn about the company.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A course introducing a new situation or environment.
The principles of right and wrong that are accepted by an individual or a social group.
An orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation.
An attitude toward religion or religious practices.
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What Does It Mean Here?
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.