indirect speech

British  

noun

1. Also called: reported speech.  the reporting of something said or written by conveying what was meant rather than repeating the exact words, as in the sentence He asked me whether I would go as opposed to He asked me, "Will you go?"

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

indirect speech

Instead of omniscient narrators, they deployed free indirect speech to reveal characters’ innermost thoughts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

Over time, MacFarquhar developed a style that relied heavily on free indirect speech, a device common to novels but rare in non-fiction, where a character’s voice momentarily creeps into the narration unannounced.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 17, 2015

The little man had conveyed his wish of this by indirect speech.

From Ewing\'s Lady by Wilson, Harry Leon

Mr. Ackerman put it as plainly as his bias in favour of indirect speech would permit.

From The Boss of Wind River by Chisholm, A. M. (Arthur Murray)

This idea, that there is some law which makes an indirect speech more easy than a direct one, is greatly borne out by the cross-correspondences, where circumlocution continually takes the place of assertion.

From The New Revelation by Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir