orientating
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Related to orientating: orienting reflex, orienting response
o·ri·en·tate
(ôr′ē-ĕn-tāt′, -ən-)v. o·ri·en·tat·ed, o·ri·en·tat·ing, o·ri·en·tates Usage Problem
v.tr.
To orient: "He ... stood for a moment, orientating himself exactly in the light of his knowledge" (John le Carré).
v.intr.
To face or turn to the east.
Usage Note: The use of orientate rather than orient is not uncommon, especially in British English, but it is strongly stigmatized in American English. Those who object to orientate sometimes justify their position by arguing that the -ate is a needless syllable, though one rarely hears similar objections to the use of illuminate rather than illumine. Whatever the reason, disapproval of orientate is strong. In our 2014 survey, 80 percent of the Usage Panel found On emerging from the subway station, I had to take a moment to orientate myself unacceptable, with a similar percentage disapproving of The architect orientated the building on an east-west axis and The building is orientated on an east-west axis.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Adj. | 1. | orientating - positioning with respect to a reference system or determining your bearings physically or intellectually; "noticed the bee's momentary orienting pause before heading back to the hive"; "an orienting program for new employees" orientated, oriented - adjusted or located in relation to surroundings or circumstances; sometimes used in combination; "the house had its large windows oriented toward the ocean view"; "helping freshmen become oriented to college life"; "the book is value-oriented throughout" |
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