indirectly

[in-duh-rekt-lee, -dahy-]

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of indirectly¹

indirect ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Big picture: Manufacturers still play a big role in the economy, employing some 13 million people directly and many others indirectly.

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Yet Beijing chose to activate mechanisms that mobilize public opinion—indirectly shaping the behavior of businesses and consumers—and afford the government plausible deniability.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Until now, scientists have only been able to study it indirectly by observing how it affects ordinary matter, such as the way it produces enough gravity to hold galaxies together.

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There isn’t enough AI-related debt to directly cause a financial crisis, Berezin said, but financial markets are complex and trouble in one sector could indirectly hurt another.

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And those who didn’t have benefited indirectly from its extravagance.

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