Basic Details
Word: Orientation
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A short course or meeting that helps newcomers find their way in a new place. It can also mean the direction something faces.
Synonyms: introduction, induction, direction, position
Antonyms: disorientation
Word origin: From orient, which comes from Latin oriens, rising, because the sun rises in the east.
How to Spell Orientation
Syllables: o - ri - en - ta - tion
Tricky part: Students often turn the en into an (oriantation) or drop a beat (orentation). Say all five beats: o-ri-en-ta-tion.
Watch out for: oriantation, orientasion, orentation
Memory tip: Orient once meant the East, where the sun rises, and to orient yourself was to work out which way east lay. Keep orient whole, then add ation.
Usage Examples
Example 1: New students attend a two-day orientation before college classes begin.
Example 2: Check the orientation of the page before you print the poster.
Example 3: The orientation of the house lets the morning sun into the kitchen.
Fun Fact
Many migrating birds use the Earth's magnetic field for orientation when they fly long distances.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Only one of these words takes the suffix ation to form a noun:
ation
a) patient
b) ancient
c) orient
d) silent
Show answer
c) orient. Ancient, patient and silent are words that never take ation; orient grows into orientation.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
orientiation
a) n
b) t
c) a
d) i
Show answer
d) i. After orient comes ation straight away, with no i between the t and the a.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The pilot checked the plane's nitareotoin on the screen before landing in the fog.
a) ordination
b) orientation
c) retention
d) oration
Show answer
b) orientation. Ordination needs a d, oration is far too short and retention needs two e's; the eleven letters spell orientation.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A school orientation for new parents is mainly meant to ____.
a) explain how the school works
b) test them on maths
c) choose a new principal
d) collect the yearly fees
Show answer
a) explain how the school works
2. If you lose your orientation in a forest, you ____.
a) cannot tell which way to go
b) cannot find any food
c) cannot hear the birds
d) cannot climb the trees
Show answer
a) cannot tell which way to go
