indirect question
Britishnoun
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“As a talent evaluator, if the indirect question is, ‘Is Diego good enough to play at the top level in Europe?’
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2021
At the Toronto news conference, a moderator paid by Searchlight mostly kept the focus on the movie, asking just one indirect question about the assault.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 6, 2017
An indirect question is not generally set off by a comma, does not necessarily begin with a capital letter, and is not inclosed within quotation marks.
From Higher Lessons in English A work on English grammar and composition by Kellogg, Brainerd
The indirect question naturally lacks the force of the direct one, but it may be employed when a less striking form of beginning is desired.
From How To Write Special Feature Articles A Handbook for Reporters, Correspondents and Free-Lance Writers Who Desire to Contribute to Popular Magazines and Magazine Sections of Newspapers by Bleyer, Willard Grosvenor
There was no reply to the indirect question.
From Blue-Bird Weather by Gibson, Charles Dana
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.