Directive example sentences

"Directive" Example Sentences

The CEO issued a directive that all meetings must end by 5 PM.
I received a directive from HR about the new expense reporting system.
She followed the directive without asking any questions.
The government's directive on climate policy came down last Tuesday.
Nobody really understood what the directive was supposed to accomplish.
He ignored the directive and did things his own way anyway.
The directive was clear — no exceptions, no excuses.
My boss sent out a directive about dress code that nobody took seriously.
We had to implement the directive even though it made no sense.
The directive came from the top, so we had to comply.
I've never seen a directive written so poorly in my entire career.
The new directive means we'll be working weekends for the next month.
She read the directive three times and still didn't understand it.
That directive is going to cause so much chaos in the department.
The directive was supposed to improve efficiency, but it did the opposite.
He was the one who came up with that ridiculous directive.
Every time a new directive comes out, everyone just groans.
The directive explicitly said no remote work, which felt outdated immediately.
I'm so tired of getting directives that contradict the previous ones.
The directive affected everyone except the executives who created it.
She had to enforce the directive even though she disagreed with it.
The directive was leaked to the press before we even announced it.
Nobody followed the directive because it was completely unrealistic.
The directive required us to track every minute of our time.
He sent a follow-up directive clarifying what the first one meant.
The directive came down on a Friday afternoon, naturally.
I found the old directive in a filing cabinet from three years ago.
The directive was supposed to be temporary, but it stuck around.
She questioned the directive in the meeting and got shut down immediately.
The directive made it impossible to do our jobs effectively.

Common Phrases

issue a directive
follow a directive
comply with a directive
under a directive
a directive from
the directive states
enforce a directive
a new directive
executive directive
government directive

Examples by Level

The teacher gave a directive to sit down and be quiet.
The directive said we must wash our hands before eating.

I received a directive from my manager about the new schedule.
The directive was simple — everyone must arrive on time.

The company issued a directive that nobody really understood or wanted to follow.
Looking back, that directive was probably the worst decision management ever made.

The directive came down without any consultation, which frustrated everyone who actually had to implement it.
She'd spent weeks trying to make sense of a directive that seemed designed to create more problems than it solved.

The government's directive on data privacy, while well-intentioned, created a bureaucratic nightmare that most small businesses simply couldn't navigate.
What struck her most about the directive wasn't its content but the casual indifference with which it was delivered to those expected to execute it.

The directive represented a peculiar kind of organizational dysfunction — clear enough to enforce, vague enough to blame others when it inevitably failed.
He recognized in that directive the hallmark of leadership by committee: comprehensive in scope, contradictory in detail, and utterly devoid of any coherent vision.

Examples by Scenario

🏠 Everyday Life

My mom gave me a directive to clean my room before my friends came over.
The directive from the landlord said no loud music after 10 PM, which everyone ignores anyway.

💼 Workplace

The directive about working from home got sent out on a Monday and changed everything about how we operate.
I had to sit through a meeting where my boss explained a directive that contradicted what she'd told us last week.

📊 Business

The company's directive to cut costs by 20 percent meant layoffs were inevitable.
Our directive was to increase market share, but the budget cuts made that nearly impossible.

🛒 Buying / Shopping

The store's directive was to check IDs for everything, which slowed down the checkout lines dramatically.
I found a directive on the shelf saying the price had been reduced, so I grabbed it before they changed it back.

✈️ Travel

The airline's directive required us to arrive three hours early, which seemed excessive for a domestic flight.
The hotel sent a directive that checkout was at 11 AM sharp, no exceptions.

📚 Education

The school issued a directive banning phones in classrooms, and the teachers were thrilled about it.
The directive from the principal meant all field trips had to be pre-approved by the district office.

❤️ Relationships

He gave me a directive about where I could and couldn't go, and that's when I knew the relationship was over.
She didn't need to say anything — the directive in her eyes told me I'd messed up badly.

📰 News / Politics

The president's directive on immigration policy sparked immediate controversy across the country.
The directive was meant to streamline government, but critics said it just consolidated power.

💻 Technology

The IT directive required everyone to change their passwords every month, which meant people just wrote them down.
The directive to migrate to the new system came with almost no training or support.

📝 Formal Writing

The directive outlined specific procedures for handling sensitive data in compliance with federal regulations.
According to the directive issued on March 15th, all departments must submit quarterly reports by the fifth business day of the following month.