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Definition of "direct action" []

  • The strategic use of immediately effective acts, such as strikes, demonstrations, or sabotage, to achieve a political or social end. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "direct action" in a sentence
  • "We have proposed from these experiments that alcohol increases release not by a direct action on the dopamine neuron but through the release of an endogenous delta opioid agonist, possibly met-enkephalin, to modulate dopamine activity."
  • "Naloxone was blocking the direct action of alcohol at a receptor site shared by alcohol and opiates."
  • "Its brother company, Land-Rover, another member of the Ford Motors group not known for the sparing use of fuel, has recently had a taste of direct action from Greenpeace."