Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

directive

/dəˈɹɛk.tɪv/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.71 in modern English

Syllables
di-rec-tive
IPA
/dəˈɹɛk.tɪv/
15
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

That which directs; serving to direct, indicate, or guide.

adj

Relating to the directive case.

noun

An instruction or guideline that indicates how to perform an action or reach a goal.

noun

A construct in source code that indicates how it should be processed but is not necessarily part of the program to be run.

noun

An authoritative decision from an official body, which may or may not have binding force.

noun

A form of legislative act addressed to the member states. The directive binds the member state to reach certain objectives in their national legislation.

noun

The directive case.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle French directif. The noun senses are from French directive (feminine form of the adjective).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: directif, directive

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /dəˈɹɛk.tɪv/
  • British English: /daɪˈɹɛk.tɪv/

Inflected Forms

directives (plural)

Derived Forms

directively directiveness directivity indirective intradirective misdirective nondirective

Phrases

advance directive airworthiness directive egg prime directive framework directive prime directive

Frequently Paired Words

dirigible

Synonyms

directing directional guiding

Rhymes With

effective perspective objective collective detective respective protective selective prospective subjective ineffective reflective

Questions

How do you pronounce directive?
The recorded pronunciation is /dəˈɹɛk.tɪv/.
What does directive mean?
That which directs; serving to direct, indicate, or guide.
Where does directive come from?
It is traced to Middle French.

How to pronounce directive

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “directive”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/dəˈɹɛk.tɪv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “directive”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “directive” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.