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'Orient' is both a transitive and an intransitive verb. When intransitive, it means 'to face or turn to the east'. When transitive, it is a synonym of 'orient', one of whose meanings is 'to make something orientate'. Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com
I guess 'orientate', in its intransitive form, is mostly used to mean 'to make something orientate', and 'orient' to mean 'to set or arrange something in a particular direction; hence, your cringing, having heard them used interchangeably.
"Orient" and "orientate" are synonyms and both are almost always transitive verbs. "Orientate" is far more commonly used in the UK and non-North American English-speaking countries. The difference came about because our two peoples took took different paths. The verb "orientate" won out as the preferred form in the UK and the countries which learn its style of English; "orient" won out as the preferred form in North America.
The difference probably came about because the Americans changed the meaning of the verb "orient" from "to face east" to "position someone or something the right way," which then generated the noun "orientation," which the British did a back-formation from to create "orientate" 'to position someone or something the right way."
There's a good entry about "orientate" in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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