indirectly
Americanadverb
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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.
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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.
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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.
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deviously or covertly.
The ad comes from a group indirectly funded by the cult and calling itself by another name.
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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.”
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of indirectly
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.
It will also create more than 8,100 new jobs indirectly, the agency estimated.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Elected in 2023, Tinubu has used his first term to push through ambitious economic reforms, including ending a costly fuel subsidy that for years had indirectly suppressed prices throughout the economy.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Tencent’s stance echoes Meta’s early messaging on AI investment returns, which were expected to come indirectly through ad-targeting improvements before shifting toward external compute services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
If the CIA operated indirectly, often several steps removed from the artists who produced imaginative work in which they believed, it’s unclear how much credit—or blame—the agency deserved.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
I could see they were willing to help the band and indirectly me, because I was dying to go to Europe, so I was grateful to them.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
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.
