orientada

Orientada is the feminine singular form of the adjective derived from the verb orientar, meaning guided, directed, or aimed. It agrees with feminine nouns and contrasts with orientado (masculine) and orientados/orientadas (plural). The term is used across Portuguese-language texts to indicate the intended direction, purpose, or method of something, often with prepositions such as para, a, or por. Common constructions include para with oriented meaning “aimed at” (orientada para), a meaning “focused on” (orientada a), and por meaning “driven by” (orientada por).

In practical usage, orientada describes strategies, processes, and objects that have a specified orientation. For example: uma estratégia orientada para resultados (a strategy oriented toward results); uma pesquisa orientada por dados (a data-driven study). In some contexts, you may also encounter design or software phrases that use the form orientada, such as in computing and information systems. A widely recognized IT expression is programação orientada a objetos, or object-oriented programming; there are also references to event-driven styles as programação orientada a eventos.

Etymology: the adjective comes from the verb orientar, which in turn derives from older Romance roots related to guiding or directing, ultimately linked to the sense of pointing in a direction.

See also: orientação, orientar, orientado, orientação de dados, design orientado ao usuário.