The command pwd (print working directory) is used to display the absolute pathname of the current working directory. This is the most direct and explicit command for this purpose, hence it is the correct answer. Understanding the current directory's absolute path is essential for numerous tasks, like referencing files or changing directories. The other options, ls for listing directory contents, cd - for moving to the previous directory, and dirname for extracting a path's directory part, do not serve the purpose of displaying the current directory's path.