orientation

noun ori·en·ta·tion \ ˌȯr-ē-ən-ˈtā-shən , -ˌen- \

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

1 a : the act or process of orienting or of being oriented

These materials are for the orientation of new employees.

b : the state of being oriented

the orientation of the main altar of the church

; broadly : arrangement, alignment

the orientation of molecules

2 a : a usually general or lasting direction of thought, inclination, or interest

the fundamentally human orientation of Greek art
—Bruce Cole

This company has a decidedly conservative orientation.

b : a person's sexual identity or self-identification as bisexual, heterosexual, homosexual, pansexual, etc. : the state of being bisexual, heterosexual, homosexual, pansexual, etc.

3 : change of position by organs, organelles, or organisms in response to external stimulus

The plant's orientation is toward light.

—

orientational

play \ˌȯr-ē-ən-ˈtā-shnəl, -shə-nᵊl, -ˌen-\ adjective

—

orientationally

adverb

See orientation defined for English-language learners

See orientation defined for kids

Examples of orientation in a Sentence

patients identifying themselves as homosexual or bisexual in orientation
He makes no secret of his orientation.
The organization has a decidedly conservative orientation.
Her later works were more introspective in orientation.
These materials are used for the orientation of new employees.
New students need to go through a short orientation before they begin classes.

Recent Examples of orientation from the Web

And as Sam, who is afraid to reveal her orientation even to the two young women who have been her best friends since childhood, Adlon has a sweet, soulful openness.

— stephanie zacharek, Time, "Review: In the Raunchy Blockers, It's the Adults Who Need to Grow Up," 6 Apr. 2018
In state after state, the left is proving to be the animating force in Democratic primaries, producing a surge of candidates who are forcefully driving the party toward a more liberal orientation on nearly every issue.

— NBC News, "First Read's Morning Clips: Obama enters 2018 fray," 29 Mar. 2018
Goodman JFS of Broward New volunteer orientation - Kosher choice pantry.

— Jewish Journal, "Jewish events in Broward, Miami-Dade counties: March 21-27," 20 Mar. 2018
Meet someone that piqued your interest and you were encouraged to slip him or her a contact card from a small deck distributed during an earlier orientation session.

— ryan smith, Chicago Reader, "Apropos of Nothing / Narcissism / Seriously? / News 'Spinning Singles' search for love atop a Ferris wheel—in 12 minutes or less," 9 Mar. 2018
Another option is joining the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), a volunteer organization that offers orientation flights and scholarships to motivated cadets.

— cynthia drescher, Condé Nast Traveler, "Do You Have to Be Rich to Become a Pilot?," 7 Mar. 2018
The last of the victims, Martin Duque, a soccer-loving freshman, was laid to rest Sunday, the same day students returned to campus for a brief orientation.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "Two weeks after Valentine's Day massacre, students return to class at Florida high school," 28 Feb. 2018
Near the outset, Rock recalls attending a high-school orientation session for one of his daughters that promoted the kind of touchy-feely wish-based thinking that infects education these days.

— kyle smith, National Review, "‘We Need Bullies’: Chris Rock Speaks Truth to Weakness in Tamborine," 15 Feb. 2018
Once students are ready to apply for the program, they are moved from Crowell to Shinika Byrd, MBA orientation specialist, who helps students apply and register for the program.

— jennifer edwards, The Seattle Times, "MBA program boasts state’s highest enrollment," 13 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'orientation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of orientation

1839

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

orientation Synonyms

Synonyms

aspect, exposure, frontage;

ORIENTATION Defined for English Language Learners

orientation

noun

: a person's feelings, interests, and beliefs
: a main interest, quality, or goal
: the process of giving people training and information about a new job, situation, etc.