indirectly

American  

[in-duh-rekt-lee, -dahy-] / ˌɪn dəˈrɛkt li, -daɪ- /

adverb

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. deviously or covertly.

   The ad comes from a group indirectly funded by the cult and calling itself by another name.

5. 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

• semi-indirectly adverb

Etymology

Origin of indirectly

indirect ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

About a third of local workers are employed in mining and construction, a category that includes oil, and many more jobs indirectly depend on the money spouting out of oil wells.

From The Wall Street Journal

And only then can banks and other traditional financial institutions manage, hold and exchange those assets with any degree of confidence that they aren’t indirectly abetting a crime.

From The Wall Street Journal

Until recently, astronomers mostly had to piece together the earliest stages indirectly because the expanding debris looked like a single pinpoint of light.

From Science Daily

“I’m complex and I’m deep and I get hurt easily,” Mr. Chase says in explaining his sour disposition and, indirectly, utter lack of empathy.

From The Wall Street Journal

With a district that is 92% Latino, she said, nearly everyone is fearful, whether they are directly or indirectly affected, regardless if they have citizenship.

From Los Angeles Times