directly

Study(16)

/dɪˈɹɛk(t).li/

adv 5conj 1

Collocations

ADJ.

above, difficult, global, involved, kind, mean, other, over

The global pandemic directly affected how we work and live every single day.

VERB + DIRECTLY

call, came, changes, coming, contact, drove, go, rain

I called directly to the manager about the problem with my order yesterday.

DIRECTLY + NOUN

bell, carbon, compare, home, office, operations, representatives, school

The company's carbon emissions fell sharply after they invested in renewable energy directly.

PREP.

about, from, into, upon, with, with

The new policy directly affects everyone who works in our department.

ADV.

instead, reflectedly

She decided to address the problem directly instead of complaining about it behind closed doors.

Definitions

adv

In a direct manner; in a straight line or course.

He drove directly to the office, and didn't stop off at the petrol station.

On arriving at the doors, and entering a long, capacious passage, our eyes became quite dazzled by the gleams of colored light which shone upon them, both directly and reflectedly.

In a straightforward way; without anything intervening; not by secondary but by direct means.

I'm sick of asking you to fire him; I'll just do it directly.

Plainly, without circumlocution or ambiguity; absolutely; in express terms.

I'm going to tell Natalie directly that I love her.

To put it more directly: he's not 'made redundant' but sacked.

Exactly; just; at the shortest possible distance.

It's directly across the street.

The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone,[…]. Scribes, illuminators, and scholars held such stones directly over manuscript pages as an aid in seeing what was being written, drawn, or read.

Straightforwardly; honestly.

He told me directly that he'd cheated on me, and how sorry he was for it.

conj

As soon as; immediately (elliptical for directly that/as/when)

“He is, he is," Nastenka repeated. “He is here, and I know it. We made an agreement at the time, that evening, before he went away: when we said all that I have told you, and had come to an understanding, then we came out here for a walk on this embankment. It was ten o'clock; we sat on this seat. I was not crying then; it was sweet to me to hear what he said.... And he said that he would come to us directly he arrived, and if I did not refuse him, then we would tell grandmother about it all. Now he is here, I know it, and yet he does not come!"

Tenderly, reluctantly, he took his leave of her, promising that he would contact her directly he got back, perhaps in ten days or so.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

adverb — without delay or hesitation

adverb — without deviation

adverb — in a forthright manner

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

Example Bank

He drove directly to the office, and didn't stop off at the petrol station.

Wiktionary

On arriving at the doors, and entering a long, capacious passage, our eyes became quite dazzled by the gleams of colored light which shone upon them, both directly and reflectedly.

Wiktionary

It is more difficult to directly compare train operations and maintenance, given how fragmented the non-infrastructure segments of the industry are today.

Wiktionary

Tenderly, reluctantly, he took his leave of her, promising that he would contact her directly he got back, perhaps in ten days or so.

Wiktionary

He is to go to Calais, directly this is over, to replace Lord Berners as governor [...].

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, directly is marked as British. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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