directly

adverb

1. 1

   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.

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

2. 2

   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.

3. 3

   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.

   "Mujtahidd" has attracted almost 300,000 followers since the end of last year, when he began posting scandalous claims about the Saudi elite. In one tweet, Mujtahidd directly challenged Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Fahd about his political history: "Did you resign or were you forced to resign from your post as head of the diwan [office] of the council of ministers?"

4. 4

   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.

5. 5

   Straightforwardly; honestly.

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

6. 6

   datedImmediately.

7. 7

   datedSoon; next; in due time; as soon as it becomes convenient.

   We'll go to the store directly, but first I need to finish sweeping.

conjunction

1. 1

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

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

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

Forms

comparative

more directly

superlative

most directly