as in overseeing
Related Words
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Dissimilar Words
as in commanding
Related Words
1
as in channeling
to cause to move to a central point or along a restricted pathway
the aqueduct directs the water into an artificial lake
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in instructing
to issue orders to (someone) by right of authority
our tour guide directed us to wait in front of the building until she could rejoin us
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in ordering
to request the doing of by virtue of one's authority
the caretaker directed that all of the windows be closed before we left
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in supervising
to look after and make decisions about
the music teacher directs both the student orchestra and the marching band
Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in aiming
to point or turn (something) toward a target or goal
we quickly directed our attention toward the noise coming from the rear
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in guiding
to point out the way for (someone) especially from a position in front
the guide directed the tour through the museum with commendable efficiency and expertise
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of directing
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 26 Feb. 2026
Kay created and is writing the drama, with Richard Laxton (Mrs Wilson, The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe) directing.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 25 Feb. 2026
The deputy chief directs area commanders in planning, organizing, directing, controlling and evaluating all investigative efforts under their geographic area of responsibility.
—Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado
updated February 24, Sacbee.com, 24 Feb. 2026
Zhao became only the second woman to be nominated twice for best directing, following her win in 2021 for Nomadland.
—Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 19 Feb. 2026
Historically, White House officials have taken pains to avoid any appearance of being involved in, or directing, criminal investigations undertaken by the Justice Department and the FBI.
—Josh Meyer, USA Today, 17 Feb. 2026
He's also done some TV directing with The Boys and Black Mirror, among others.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 17 Feb. 2026
Mendes then moved the topic onto another difficult – if at least fulfilling – aspect of directing, which is not being able to express emotions when capturing the perfect shot.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 16 Feb. 2026
Traoré is doing more of it himself, pointing, directing, owning possessions.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2026
Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
The indelible flaming image ended up on the film’s original poster, yet it was borne out of a scrappy indie sensibility from writing and directing duo Kevin and Matthew McManus.
—William Earl, Variety, 20 Feb. 2026
Lipovsky and Stein are riding a moment of major heat after directing Bloodlines, which last year broke out as the highest-grossing and best-reviewed installment in New Line’s Final Destination series with over $317 million in global box office.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2026
Gavras is know for directing films like Netflix's French feature Athena and last year's English language action adventure comedy Sacrifice.
—Meg Walters, InStyle, 19 Feb. 2026
Several students protested the club in December, claiming the program’s outside influence violates a section of the Equal Access Act prohibiting people outside a school from directing conduct, controlling or regularly attending student groups.
—Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2026
Among his directing works are the adaptation of Joe Hill novel Horns that starred Daniel Radcliffe, campy hit Piranha 3D and the 2019 crocodile thriller Crawl.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026
Jackson is also vying for the president’s favor, even directing a slice of his roughly $4 million cable ad buy to Washington and Palm Beach — a clear bid to catch the president’s eye.
—Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 7 Feb. 2026
Shouldn’t, Mean To my hearing and reading, Peterson disagrees with directing or legislating equality of outcomes.
—Erik Sherman, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
Noun
Media Res international, which is based out of Sweden, is also adapting The Brothers Lionheart for Apple TV, with Thomas Vinterberg directing.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 26 Feb. 2026
Kay created and is writing the drama, with Richard Laxton (Mrs Wilson, The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe) directing.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 25 Feb. 2026
The deputy chief directs area commanders in planning, organizing, directing, controlling and evaluating all investigative efforts under their geographic area of responsibility.
—Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado
updated February 24, Sacbee.com, 24 Feb. 2026
Zhao became only the second woman to be nominated twice for best directing, following her win in 2021 for Nomadland.
—Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 19 Feb. 2026
Historically, White House officials have taken pains to avoid any appearance of being involved in, or directing, criminal investigations undertaken by the Justice Department and the FBI.
—Josh Meyer, USA Today, 17 Feb. 2026
He's also done some TV directing with The Boys and Black Mirror, among others.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 17 Feb. 2026
Mendes then moved the topic onto another difficult – if at least fulfilling – aspect of directing, which is not being able to express emotions when capturing the perfect shot.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 16 Feb. 2026
Traoré is doing more of it himself, pointing, directing, owning possessions.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2026
Verb
Zach is producing and directing and editing and writing and doing all of the things, and that’s been really neat to watch.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
The indelible flaming image ended up on the film’s original poster, yet it was borne out of a scrappy indie sensibility from writing and directing duo Kevin and Matthew McManus.
—William Earl, Variety, 20 Feb. 2026
Lipovsky and Stein are riding a moment of major heat after directing Bloodlines, which last year broke out as the highest-grossing and best-reviewed installment in New Line’s Final Destination series with over $317 million in global box office.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2026
Gavras is know for directing films like Netflix's French feature Athena and last year's English language action adventure comedy Sacrifice.
—Meg Walters, InStyle, 19 Feb. 2026
Several students protested the club in December, claiming the program’s outside influence violates a section of the Equal Access Act prohibiting people outside a school from directing conduct, controlling or regularly attending student groups.
—Addison Wright, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2026
Among his directing works are the adaptation of Joe Hill novel Horns that starred Daniel Radcliffe, campy hit Piranha 3D and the 2019 crocodile thriller Crawl.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026
Jackson is also vying for the president’s favor, even directing a slice of his roughly $4 million cable ad buy to Washington and Palm Beach — a clear bid to catch the president’s eye.
—Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 7 Feb. 2026
Shouldn’t, Mean To my hearing and reading, Peterson disagrees with directing or legislating equality of outcomes.
—Erik Sherman, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for directing
Noun
-
Robert Duvall, the commanding and supremely versatile actor who earned a lasting place in American movie history, died Sunday at age 95.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
17 Feb. 2026
-
There was little jockeying among front-runners, as the first-place finisher took a commanding lead early on and never let off the gas.—
Viju Mathew,
Robb Report,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Casa Maruka Cleverly channeling an old-fashioned casa de comidas complete with an imaginary granny (Maruka) at the stove and classic Spanish dishes tweaked for modern tastes, Alberto Serrano and Maria José Calabria continue to preside over what may be Palma’s most consistently enjoyable restaurant.—
Paul Richardson,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Feb. 2026
-
The kidulting fitness class is all about channeling your inner child, and the atmosphere is fun, even silly.—
Tina Kraus,
CBS News,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The lawsuit also seeks an order instructing OpenLoop to pay for lifetime credit monitoring and identity-theft insurance for all class members.—
Clark Kauffman,
Iowa Capital Dispatch,
20 Feb. 2026
-
One person’s voice is heard in the video instructing people which batch to light first.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Attorneys representing Polis informed a Denver judge Friday that the governor wanted a ruling that would indefinitely block him from ordering the release of the information, which ICE had initially requested roughly a year ago.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
25 Feb. 2026
-
The buckets hold a whopping 48 ounces of Dunkin’ drink; if you’re used to ordering a 16-ounce, then one bucket has enough coffee to share with two of your friends.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
To achieve that, supervising sound editor Nelson Ferreira recorded Elordi’s ADR at a high resolution of 96K to enable Robitaille to push and distort the voice without adding artifacts.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Team player representatives, the overall group supervising negotiations, voted 26-4 in favor, leaving the overall ballot at 26-12 for ratification.—
Ronald Blum,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Martinez was aiming to become the eighth Coloradoan since 2014 to win titles in four different weight classes, having taken the 130-pound crown in ’23; the 135-pound title in ’24; and the 140-pound championship last year.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Several players are aiming to deliver production-ready prototypes between 2026 and 2027.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The problem here is that the guiding principle is clearly not a scientific or rigorous one.—
The Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Ivey shied away from expressing how Thursday’s game — or further lack of playing time — could affect his feelings toward the Bulls in free agency, repeatedly turning to his faith as a guiding post among uncertainty on the court.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The podcast paints Jordan as an increasingly controlling and abusive on-and-off-again boyfriend of Arceneaux's who at one point gave her three pages of rules to follow, like sharing social media passwords and her location.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Rousseau is a notoriously controlling and meticulous leader, obsessed with optics and strict about the physical fitness of his members.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
15 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Directing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/directing. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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