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.”

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Other Word Forms

• semi-indirectly adverb

Etymology

Origin of indirectly

indirect ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

It can directly lead to less consumer demand and labor supply within the U.S., but also indirectly affect the amount of remittance money that foreign workers send home to their families abroad.

From Barron's

Fitch expects short-term tariff relief to stabilize profits among exporter clients, while indirectly supporting domestically focused corporate borrowers through improved earnings, and easing banks’ loan stress.

From The Wall Street Journal

He has also indirectly raised this question about the legal system itself - due to its own role in the Stakeknife case.

From BBC

"Because she is representing everybody who is directly or indirectly on the receiving end of the state," he told AFP.

From Barron's

That indirectly reported conversation prompted a number of commentators in the US and India to suggest that the accident had been caused by one of the pilots, either deliberately or inadvertently.

From BBC