Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

orientation

/ˌɔː.ɹi.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.05 in modern English

Syllables: ori-en-ta-tion
IPA: /ˌɔː.ɹi.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/

11

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

5

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The determination of the relative position of something or someone.

Countable

noun

The relative physical position or direction of something.

Countable

noun

The construction of a Christian church to have its aisle in an east-west direction with the altar at the east end.

Uncountable

noun

An inclination, tendency or direction.

Countable

noun

The ability to orient, or the process of so doing.

Countable

noun

An adjustment to a new environment.

Countable

noun

An introduction to a (new) environment.

Countable

noun

An introduction to a (new) environment.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"The homing instinct in pigeons is an example of orientation."
"And now, I want to help other asexual people to embrace their orientation without an instilled core of self-doubt."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₃er-der. Proto-Italic *oriōr Latin orior Latin orientembor. French orient Proto-Italic *-āzi ▲ Latin -ereinflu. Latin -āre Old French -ier Middle French -er French -er French orienter Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin -ātiōlbor. Old French -ation Middle French -ation French -ation French orientationbor. English orientation From French orientation. By surface analysis, orient + -ation.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: *h₃er-, orientation

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌɔː.ɹi.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/

Usage

Inflected Forms

orientations (plural)

Derived Forms

biorientation coorientation malorientation misorientation monoorientation multiorientation orientational orientationist photoorientation preorientation reorientation

Phrases

class-orientation family of orientation macro-level orientation micro-level orientation orientation cage orientation camp orientation course orientation week

Frequently Paired Words

nonorientable orient orientable orientalism orientate orienteer attraction

Synonyms

orientation course predilection preference

Antonyms

disorientation

Rhymes With

information education situation population station association administration operation organization nation location application

Questions

How do you pronounce orientation?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌɔː.ɹi.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/.
What does orientation mean?: The determination of the relative position of something or someone.
Where does orientation come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce orientation

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “orientation”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌɔː.ɹi.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “orientation”.
Repeat and practice — Say “orientation” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.