List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 75

SYNONYMS: command, order, bid, enjoin, direct, instruct, charge.
These verbs mean to issue an instruction that must be obeyed.

Both command and order emphasize authority, but command often suggests the authority of an official (A general commands), while order can sometimes imply an autocratic or highhanded quality (The teacher ordered the child to leave the room).
Bid suggests an oral command: I bid you be seated.
Enjoin, direct, and instruct do not connote the authority of command or order, but they all imply compliance. Enjoin can apply both to demanding and to prohibiting a course of conduct or action: Orders to intelligence operatives often enjoin secrecy. Strikers were enjoined from picketing.
Direct implies the giving of an order but less strongly than command: The governor directed the attorney general to investigate corruption.
Instruct often suggests a direction to do something in a specific way: Students were instructed to submit their essays by the end of the term.
Charge implies the imposition of a duty: She was charged with the supervision of the proofreaders.