orientation

noun

(countable) The determination of the relative position of something or someone.

(countable) The relative physical position or direction of something.

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

(countable) An adjustment to a new environment.

(countable) An introduction to a (new) environment.

(education) Events to orient new students at a school; events to help new students become familiar with a school.

(countable) An inclination, tendency or direction.

(typography, countable) The direction of print across the page; landscape or portrait.

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

(mathematical analysis, differential geometry, countable) The choice of which ordered bases are "positively" oriented and which are "negatively" oriented on a real vector space.

(analytic geometry, topology, countable) The designation of a parametrised curve as "positively" or "negatively" oriented; the analogous description of a surface or hypersurface.

(LGBTQ) Ellipsis of sexual orientation. [The tendencies of a person's sexual attraction, considered as a whole.]

Roots

oriororient- · Latin · rise, arise

Synonyms for orientation

directionn positioningn alignmentn disorientationn azimuthn inclinationn placementn

Synonyms & related words for orientation

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of orientation — including direction, positioning, alignment, disorientation, azimuth, inclination. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to orientation

Explore words related to orientation — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include misorientation, orientational, reorientation, orientating, orienting, orientated, oriented, preference. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for orientation

Common synonyms for orientation include direction, positioning, alignment, disorientation, azimuth, inclination, placement — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does orientation come from?

The word orientation breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root orient-, from Latin orior (“rise, arise”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.