indirect
/ˌɪn.dɪˈɹɛkt/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.00 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Not direct
adj
Not direct:
adj
Not direct:
adj
Not direct:
adj
Not direct:
adj
noun
An indirect cost.
Example Sentences
- "While not mentioning any of their competitors by name, the CEO made some indirect statements that they were acting immorally."
- "Se asked him some indirect questions to ascertain whether he was single."
- "Indirect messages permit communicative contacts when, without them, the alternatives would be total inhibition, silence, and solitude on the one hand, or, on the other, communicative behavior that is direct, offensive, and hence forbidden. This is a painful choice. In actual practice, neither alternative is likely to result in the gratification of personal or sexual needs. In this dilemma, indirect communications provide a useful compromise. As an early move in the dating game, the young man might invite the young woman to dinner or to the movies."
- "The direct result of socialising every day in the bars may be happiness and meeting new people, but the indirect results could be addiction, or even poverty."
- "In an effort to beat the traffic jams, they opted to take an indirect route to their destination."
- "Did you, by indirect, and forced courſes / Subdue, and poyſon this tong Maides affections? / Or came it by requeſt, and ſuch faire queſtion / As ſoule, to ſoule affordeth?"
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: indirect, indirectus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌɪn.dɪˈɹɛkt/
- British English: /ˌɪn.daɪˈɹɛkt/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more indirect (comparative)
most indirect (superlative)
indirects (plural)
indirects (present, singular)
indirecting (participle, present)
indirected (participle, past)
indirected (past)