DIRECTS Synonyms: 131 Similar and Opposite Words

directs

verb

present tense third-person singular of direct

as in conducts

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

Relevance

as in instructs

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in orders

to request the doing of by virtue of one's authority the caretaker directed that all of the windows be closed before we left

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in supervises

to look after and make decisions about the music teacher directs both the student orchestra and the marching band

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as in aims

to point or turn (something) toward a target or goal we quickly directed our attention toward the noise coming from the rear

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in steers

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

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of directs Make sure every downspout directs water at least 6 feet away from the house—and even farther if possible. — Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 13 July 2026 Instead of projecting light onto a flat surface, the new method directs laser energy into a three-dimensional volume inside a photosensitive material called SU-8. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 10 July 2026 The human still directs the crime, but the AI agent does much of the repetitive technical work that used to require patience, expertise and time at the keyboard. — Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026 Childers is a surgical oncologist at the University of Washington and directs the Payment and Outcomes Research Lab. — Christopher P. Childers, STAT, 10 July 2026 Olivia Wilde directs and stars alongside Seth Rogen as her snarky husband, and Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton as their swinger neighbors. — Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 10 July 2026 This week, the Legislature took an important first step by approving a state budget that directs the governor’s administration to return with a comprehensive blueprint for implementing a Fair Share contribution. — Dave Cortese, Mercury News, 8 July 2026 The site also directs visitors to purchase merchandise left over from Pratt’s mayoral campaign, including $50 baseball caps, and includes links to products sold by his wife, Heidi Montag, as well as to the couple’s other business ventures. — Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 8 July 2026 As her daughter sweeps away the last piles of sand, 54-year-old Nuru Mohammed directs women hanging fishing nets to serve as décor. — ABC News, 6 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for directs

Verb

Stonepeak owns Omni Air International, a charter airline that conducts long-haul deportation flights for the federal government.

— Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2026
Mary Chun conducts the production directed by Elly Lichenstein.

— Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 16 July 2026

Definition of conducts

Verb

Erez picks it up, stares through the crosshairs, as a voice on the phone instructs them how to aim and shoot.

— Marisa Fox, Rolling Stone, 16 July 2026
Diranersen is what’s called an antisense oligonucleotide that doesn't attack tau buildup but instead instructs a tau-producing gene to produce less.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 July 2026

Definition of instructs

Verb

In one of the most memorable scenes from Homer’s 2,800-year-old poem, Odysseus ties himself to a ship mast and orders his crew to plug their ears with beeswax, so as not to be lured in by the dulcet yet deadly songs of the Sirens.

— Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 14 July 2026
Examples are a prompt that orders the LLM to provide steps for developing inhalable Anthrax spores, or, in the case of LLMs from Chinese developers, make references to the iconic Tank Man from the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

— Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 13 July 2026

Definition of orders

Verb

David Smith, who supervises the district’s aedes crew, said his team has received an increasing number of service requests for day-biting mosquitoes within the neighborhood.

— Alula Alderson, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026
View on Spotify Randall Poster, Air Mail’s Music Editor, supervises the music in movies.

— Air Mail, Air Mail, 4 July 2026

Definition of supervises

Verb

Burnham wants to continue reducing net migration and voted in support of a bill that aims to further cut channel crossings and direct people to safer, legal routes.

— ABC News, ABC News, 19 July 2026
Maybe more, as Argentina aims to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cup titles since Brazil 64 years ago.

— Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 18 July 2026

Definition of aims

Verb

Schumer, who steers millions in outside spending through a constellation of PACs, threatened to freeze all investments in Maine unless Platner ends his campaign, but has otherwise stayed silent on the jockeying.

— David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 7 July 2026
That warming changes where thunderstorms develop near the equator, which can shift the jet stream — the fast-moving river of air that steers storms across North America.

— Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 7 July 2026

Definition of steers

Verb

Created by Chicago painter Nathaniel Mary Quinn, the image mashes up caricatures of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ron Wood into a glorious grotesquerie that channels the colorful glam-trash aesthetics of the band’s late-’70s phase.

— Stuart Berman, Pitchfork, 13 July 2026
This pick has great movement, plenty of airflow, and a blue pinstripe that channels Swift’s look.

— Annie Blackman, InStyle, 11 July 2026