direct

v

1. administer, engineer, orchestrate, quarterback, Inf. call the plays, run the show, make decisions, dispose, Inf. call the shots; manage, superintend, run, operate, carry out, handle, manipulate; supervise, oversee, preside, counsel, advise; boss, be master over, dominate, domineer, push or shove around, ride herd on, ride roughshod over.

2. command, instruct, dictate, order, give orders, charge, adjure; bid, tell, enjoin; ordain, decree, enact, authorize, warrant, lay down the law, wield one's power or authority.

3. control, have control over, regulate, rule, rule the roost, govern, be on top of, be master of; be in control, be in command, be in the driver's seat or saddle, wear the pants or trousers, have the upper hand, have under control, have well in hand, hold the purse strings, hold all the cards.

4. steer, drive, pilot, navigate, hold the reins, be at the helm; guide, lead, conduct, usher, escort, accompany; point, aim, steer [s.o. or s.t.] toward, head [s.o. or s.t.] toward, orient or position toward, put on the right track, show the way, point out the way, give directions to, Chiefly Scot. airt; intend or destine for, address, send, mail.

adj

5. straight, straightaway, undeviating, unswerving, unwinding, uncircuitous; shortest, nearest, as the crow flies.

6. unmediated, immediate, noninterventional; first hand, from the horse's mouth, personal, face to face, vis-a-vis, head-on.

7. exact, accurate, correct, precise, verbatim, word for word.

8. explicit, clear, plain, simple, unequivocal; absolute, categorical, unqualified, unconditional, unambiguous, unmistakable; straightforward, forthright, uncircumlocutory, unperiphrastic, straight to the point, U.S. Inf. straight-out, Inf. flatfooted, no-nonsense, point blank; frank, candid, outspoken, bluff, blunt, plain-spoken, matter of fact, shirtsleeve, open, unreserved, uninhibited, honest, truthful, sincere, ingenuous, aboveboard, artless, undesigning.