Definition of indirect Indirect

/ɪndɚɛˈkt/ - [inderekt] - in•di•rect

We found 14 definitions of indirect from 6 different sources.

What does indirect mean?

WordNet

Adjective
indirect - extended senses; not direct in manner or language or behavior or action; "making indirect but legitimate inquiries"; "an indirect insult"; "doubtless they had some indirect purpose in mind"; "though his methods are indirect they are not dishonest"; "known as a shady indirect fellow"
		direct lacking compromising or mitigating elements; exact; "the direct opposite"
		allusive characterized by indirect references; "allusive speech is characterized by allusions"
		backhanded roundabout or ambiguous; "attacks from that source amounted to a backhanded compliment to his integrity"; "a backhanded and dishonest way of reaching his goal"
		circuitous, roundabout marked by obliqueness or indirection in speech or conduct; "the explanation was circuitous and puzzling"; "a roundabout paragraph"; "hear in a roundabout way that her ex-husband was marrying her best friend"
		ambagious, circumlocutious, circumlocutory, periphrastic roundabout and unnecessarily wordy; "had a preference for circumlocutious (or circumlocutory) rather than forthright expression"; "A periphrastic study in a worn-out poetical fashion,/ Leaving one still with the intolerable wrestle/ With words and meanings."-T.S.Eliot; (`ambagious' is archaic)
		oblique, devious slanting or inclined in direction or course or position--neither parallel nor perpendicular nor right-angled; "the oblique rays of the winter sun"; "acute and obtuse angles are oblique angles"; "the axis of an oblique cone is not perpendicular to its base"
		excursive, digressive, discursive, rambling (of e.g. speech and writing) tending to depart from the main point or cover a wide range of subjects; "amusingly digressive with satirical thrusts at women's fashions among other things"; "a rambling discursive book"; "his excursive remarks"; "a rambling speech about this and that"
		hearsay heard through another rather than directly; "hearsay information"
		mealy-mouthed, mealymouthed hesitant to state facts or opinions simply and directly as from e.g. timidity or hypocrisy; "a mealymouthed politician"
indirect - not direct in spatial dimension; not leading by a straight line or course to a destination; "sometimes taking an indirect path saves time"; "you must take an indirect course in sailing"
		direct lacking compromising or mitigating elements; exact; "the direct opposite"
		crooked having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned; "crooked country roads"; "crooked teeth"
		directness, straightness trueness of course toward a goal; "rivaling a hawk in directness of aim"
		askance, askant, asquint, squint, squint-eyed, squinty, sidelong (used especially of glances) directed to one side with or as if with doubt or suspicion or envy; "her eyes with their misted askance look"- Elizabeth Bowen; "sidelong glances"
		circuitous, roundabout, devious marked by obliqueness or indirection in speech or conduct; "the explanation was circuitous and puzzling"; "a roundabout paragraph"; "hear in a roundabout way that her ex-husband was marrying her best friend"
		diversionary (of tactics e.g.) likely or designed to confuse or deceive
indirect - not as a direct effect or consequence; "indirect benefits"; "an indirect advantage"
		secondary belonging to a lower class or rank
indirect - having intervening factors or persons or influences; "reflection from the ceiling provided a soft indirect light"; "indirect evidence"; "an indirect cause"
indirect - descended from a common ancestor but through different lines; "cousins are collateral relatives"; "an indirect descendant of the Stuarts"
		collateral
		related connected by kinship, common origin, or marriage

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Wiktionary

indirect (Adjective)
Not direct; roundabout; deceiving; setting a trap; confusing.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

indirect (a.)
Not direct; not straight or rectilinear; deviating from a direct line or course; circuitous; as, an indirect road.
indirect (a.)
Not tending to an aim, purpose, or result by the plainest course, or by obvious means, but obliquely or consequentially; by remote means; as, an indirect accusation, attack, answer, or proposal.
indirect (a.)
Not straightforward or upright; unfair; dishonest; tending to mislead or deceive.
indirect (a.)
Not resulting directly from an act or cause, but more or less remotely connected with or growing out of it; as, indirect results, damages, or claims.
indirect (a.)
Not reaching the end aimed at by the most plain and direct method; as, an indirect proof, demonstration, etc.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

indirect
Not direct.

Chambers DictionaryChamber's 20th Century Dictionary 📕

indirect
in-di-rekt′, adj. not direct or straight: not lineal or in direct succession: not related in the natural way, oblique: not straightforward or honest.—adv. Indirect′ly.—ns. Indirect′ness, Indirec′tion (Shak.), indirect course or means, dishonest practice.—Indirect evidence, or testimony, circumstantial or inferential evidence; Indirect object (gram.), a substantive word dependent on a verb less immediately than an accusative governed by it; Indirect syllogism (logic), a syllogism which can be made more cogent and useful by the process called reduction