indirectly

American  

[in-duh-rekt-lee, -dahy-] / ˌɪn dəˈrɛkt li, -daɪ- /

adverb

1. in a roundabout way; not by the shortest or straightest path.

   Since I had time to spare I took a bus that went a bit indirectly to my destination, and saw places on the way that I never knew existed.

2. by a connection that is not immediate.

   We all pay into the federal tax system indirectly when we purchase goods from companies that pay taxes.

3. in a way that is veiled or not straightforward; obliquely.

   I use poetic language to speak indirectly about those things that seem to slip from our grasp as soon as we name them.

4. deviously or covertly.

   The ad comes from a group indirectly funded by the cult and calling itself by another name.

5. Grammar. as indirect discourse; not as an actual quotation.

   If I’m reporting the person’s speech indirectly, I’d speak about them in the third person—using “she,” “he,” or “they.”

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Other Word Forms

• semi-indirectly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of indirectly

indirect ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

What receives less attention is how prolonged uncertainty feeds inflation indirectly.

From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026

It almost looks like the NBA upper brass — Adam Silver and his cohorts/consultants — have directly or indirectly “suggested” that referees simply “let ‘em play.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2026

In 2006, then defense secretary Robert Gates indirectly appeared to confirm Israel's nuclear program in testimony to Congress while discussing Iran.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

Musk donated to OpenAI indirectly through the Musk Foundation, his private charitable foundation, first to a nonprofit arm of startup accelerator Y Combinator and then through a donor-advised fund.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

Today two more families would be in mourning in the town of Guadalupe, and indirectly the far-off war of the Japanese and the Germans had come to claim two victims in New Mexico.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya