orientation

C1 Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /ˌɔɹiɛnˈteɪʃən/ See IPA manual

Freq #12861

Meanings

1

noun
A meeting or short course that introduces people to a new job, school, or situation.

All new employees must attend an orientation on their first day.
2

noun
The direction something faces or its position relative to other things.

Check the orientation of the map before you set off.
3

noun
A person's basic attitudes, beliefs, or tendencies.

The party shifted its political orientation over the years.
4

noun
The particular pattern of a person's romantic or sexual attraction.

She felt free to embrace her sexual orientation.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a meeting or short course... orientation course

3 noun · a person's basic attitudes,... predilection preference

Word family

Forms orientations

Derived forms biorientationclass-orientationcoorientationmalorientationmisorientationmonoorientationmultiorientationorientationalorientationistphotoorientationpreorientationreorientation

Related forms attractionnonorientableorientorientableorientalismorientateorienteer

Etymology

From French orientation. By surface analysis, orient + -ation.

*h₃er- Proto-Indo-European orientation French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# orientation

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌɔɹiɛnˈteɪʃən/
**Frequency rank:** 12861

## Meanings
1. A meeting or short course that introduces people to a new job, school, or situation.
2. The direction something faces or its position relative to other things.
3. A person's basic attitudes, beliefs, or tendencies.
4. The particular pattern of a person's romantic or sexual attraction.

## Examples
- All new employees must attend an orientation on their first day.
- Check the orientation of the map before you set off.
- The party shifted its political orientation over the years.
- She felt free to embrace her sexual orientation.

## Derived Forms
- biorientation
- class-orientation
- coorientation
- malorientation
- misorientation
- monoorientation
- multiorientation
- orientational
- orientationist
- photoorientation
- preorientation
- reorientation

## Related Forms
- attraction
- nonorientable
- orient
- orientable
- orientalism
- orientate
- orienteer

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₃er-
- Root: orientation

## Etymology
From French orientation. By surface analysis, orient + -ation.

## AI Etymology
Orientation comes from French orientation. By surface analysis, orient + -ation. The historical chain includes *h₃er- (Proto-Indo-European) and orientation (French). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as biorientation, class-orientation, coorientation, and malorientation and related forms such as attraction, nonorientable, and orient. In present use it covers a meeting or short course that introduces people to a new job, school, or situation, the direction something faces or its position relative to other things, and a person's basic attitudes, beliefs, or tendencies.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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orientation

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