orientation

14 synonyms for orientation, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — An introductory session or programme that familiarises new students, employees or members with a place and its procedures.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

introduction position bearing aspect emphasis

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

induction briefing preference alignment leaning bent inclination

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

onboarding predilection

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

An introductory session or programme that familiarises new students, employees or members with a place and its procedures.

“Freshers' orientation runs for three days before lectures start.”

induction introduction briefing onboarding preference predilection

2. noun

The direction or position in which something is placed or facing relative to its surroundings.

“Change the page orientation to landscape before printing.”

alignment position bearing aspect

3. noun

The general outlook, leaning or set of priorities of a person, organisation or piece of work.

“The department has a strongly practical orientation.”

leaning emphasis bent inclination

How to use orientation

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

student orientation page orientation sexual orientation orientation session

Neutral across all senses.

Etymology

From French orientation, from orienter 'to set facing east', ultimately from Latin oriens 'the rising sun, the east'. Early churches and maps were aligned eastwards, which gave the word its sense of establishing direction.

Full origin of orientation →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between orientation and onboarding?

Orientation is the short introductory event, often a day or two, covering paperwork, tours and basic policies. Onboarding is the longer process it belongs to, running for months until the newcomer is fully effective in the role.

What does portrait and landscape orientation mean?

Portrait orientation is taller than it is wide, the usual way a page of text is printed. Landscape is wider than it is tall, better for spreadsheets, wide images and slides.

Is it orientation or orientate?

Orientation is the noun for both. The verb is orient in American English and either orient or orientate in British English; orient is shorter and safe everywhere.

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position introduction aspect bearing emphasis preference bent leaning briefing alignment induction inclination

Nearby words

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