indirect

[ in-duh-rekt, -dahy- ]

/ ˌɪn dəˈrɛkt, -daɪ- /

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See synonyms for: indirect / indirectly / indirectness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not in a direct course or path; deviating from a straight line; roundabout: an indirect course in sailing.

coming or resulting otherwise than directly or immediately, as effects or consequences: an indirect advantage.

not direct in action or procedure: His methods are indirect but not dishonest.

not straightforward; devious; deceitful: He is known as a shady, indirect fellow.

not direct in bearing, application, force, etc.: indirect evidence.

Grammar. of, relating to, or characteristic of indirect discourse: an indirect quote.

not descending in a direct line of succession, as a title or inheritance.

OTHER WORDS FOR indirect

2 incidental, unintentional, secondary.

See synonyms for indirect on Thesaurus.com

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of indirect

First recorded in 1350–1400; a Middle English word from the Medieval Latin word indīrēctus; see in-³, direct

OTHER WORDS FROM indirect

in·di·rect·ly, adverbin·di·rect·ness, nounsem·i-in·di·rect, adjectivesem·i-in·di·rect·ness, noun

Words nearby indirect

indigo snake, indigo squill, indigotic, indigotin, Indio, indirect, indirect address, indirect characterization, indirect cost, indirect costs, indirect discourse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use indirect in a sentence

What they didn’t measure was the “indirect” effect of vaccines in preventing the further spread of the virus, even though some computer models have predicted that blocking transmission could save more lives.
So you got the vaccine. Can you still infect people? Pfizer is trying to find out.|Stephanie Arnett|February 2, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Besides, high readability levels will make your content hard to understand for people with various cognitive disabilities, so this may be another indirect signal to Google that your content is good for a limited audience.
How to analyze on-page copy quality|Ann Smarty|January 7, 2021|Search Engine Watch
Under the newly passed requirement, brokers and consultants must tell employers the various forms of direct or indirect compensation they receive from vendors associated with a health plan.
Lavish Bonus? Luxury Trip? Health Benefits Brokers Will Have to Disclose What They Receive From the Insurance Industry|by Marshall Allen|January 6, 2021|ProPublica
Respiratory indirect calorimetry is typically done at a doctor’s office, although small, portable, more affordable devices are increasingly being brought to market.
Some people can eat anything and not gain a pound. How metabolism affects the calories you burn each day.|Terezie Tolar-Peterson|January 2, 2021|Washington Post

One indirect way to do it is to fill it with three-dimensional triangular tiles.
A Mathematician’s Unanticipated Journey Through the Physical World|Kevin Hartnett|December 16, 2020|Quanta Magazine
This is true, but it indicates the other, more indirect cost of Edmund.
The Cost of Raising a Special Needs Son|Elizabeth Picciuto|June 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Living with the threat of random death raining down leads to a strange way of life, a pathology of indirect fire.
Dodging Rockets in Afghanistan as the Taliban’s Fighting Season Begins|Nick Willard|May 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead, officials are musing about indirect sources of supply, by and through third countries.
CIA Director’s Trip to Kiev Was a Warning to Putin|Leslie H. Gelb|April 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And the new channels tend to be underground, indirect, and unaccountable.
The Answer to the McCutcheon Decision Is More Big Money in Politics|Jonathan Rauch|April 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Additionally, if inflation happened, it was so early on that we can only ever see indirect evidence for it.
The Big Buzz in Space News Is Something Called “Inflation.” What Exactly Is It?|Matthew R. Francis|March 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In such cases, Synthesis, which is taught hereafter, develops an indirect relation.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
Indirect lighting gave a pretty gleam to the metal gadgets on the tables.
Fee of the Frontier|Horace Brown Fyfe
Here undoubtedly we may see the indirect influence which the New School exercised upon Tchaikovsky.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky|Modeste Tchaikovsky
Signalized as the hardiest of the indirect allies of the brigands in the affair of the "Chauffeurs of Mortagne."
Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z|Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
Robert Burns, who has sung of the haggis and the whisky of his native land, has only made indirect mention of porridge.
Friend Mac Donald|Max O'Rell

British Dictionary definitions for indirect

indirect

/ (ˌɪndɪˈrɛkt) /

adjective

deviating from a direct course or line; roundabout; circuitous

not coming as a direct effect or consequence; secondaryindirect benefits

not straightforward, open, or fair; devious or evasivean indirect insult

(of a title or an inheritance) not inherited in an unbroken line of succession from father to son

Derived forms of indirect

indirectly, adverbindirectness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

indirect

OTHER WORDS FOR indirect

Origin of indirect

OTHER WORDS FROM indirect

Words nearby indirect

Words related to indirect

How to use indirect in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for indirect

Derived forms of indirect