ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷_ən.ˈtāshən also -ˌen.- noun
( -s )
1.
a. : the directing or placing of something so as to face the east ; especially : the building of a church or temple on an east-west axis with the chancel and main altar to the east
b. : the placing of a building in any determined relation to the points of the compass
2.
a. : the act of determining one's bearings or settling one's sense of direction
witnessed the bee's momentary pause for orientation before it headed back to the hive
b. : the settling of a sense of direction or relationship in moral or social concerns or in thought or art
reflection conducive to the individual's intellectual and spiritual orientation — College English
America has quite a different orientation toward new music — Ernst Krenek
3. : choice or adjustment of associations, connections, or dispositions
development toward a money orientation — W.E.Moore
nations widely different in their political orientation — J.G.Colton
4. : introduction to an unfamiliar situation : guidance in experience or activity of a new kind
the orientation program set up for the benefit of new employes — Dun's Review
5. : the change of position exhibited by some protoplasmic bodies within the cell in relation to external influences (as light or heat) or in relation to one another
6.
a. : the relative positions of atoms or groups in a chemical compound especially about a nucleus
b. : the determination of such positions — compare orient III 4
7. psychiatry : awareness of the existing situation with reference to time, place, and identity of persons
• ori·en·ta·tion·al | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷(ˌ) ̷ ̷|tāshən ə l, -shnəl adjective