indirection
Americannoun
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indirect action or procedure.
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a roundabout course or method.
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a lack of direction or goal; aimlessness.
His efforts were marked by indirection and indecisiveness.
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deceitful or dishonest dealing.
noun
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indirect procedure, courses, or methods
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lack of direction or purpose; aimlessness
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indirect dealing; deceit
Etymology
Origin of indirection
Explanation
Indirection means sneakiness or lying, especially when it's deliberately meant to distract someone or divert his attention. Spies are often forced to use indirection to keep their identities hidden. Indirection involves tricking people by making them pay attention to the wrong things. For example, magicians use indirection to distract their audiences during performances, and a politician uses indirection when he gets voters upset about one issue so they'll forget about another. In Latin, directus means "straight," and in indirection, it's combined with in, or "not." When you practice indirection, in other words, you're not being straight.
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.
“The same hallmarks we listen for in Rorem’s music will be found in his essays a well: indirection, instinctive grace, intellectual aplomb, a lyrical line.”
From Seattle Times • Nov. 18, 2022
The effect of these lines, which reach back into the past while projecting far into the future, is that of a rebus, with the stunning phrase “the final whereabouts” offering one more breath of indirection.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 22, 2022
There are two levels of indirection from the core business of Robinhood.
From The Verge • Mar. 22, 2022
Long associated with the South, Faulkner’s great theme, it eddies and circles, with an often maddening indirection.
From Slate • Aug. 6, 2019
Back in Harlem, he had often liked to get at something through this kind of indirection.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
