indirect — English Dictionary

Adjective

1. Not direct

   Synonyms

   circuitous

   Examples

   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.

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   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.

2. Not direct: Not of obvious or immediate cause, but as a secondary result.

   Synonyms

   circuitous

   Examples

   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.

3. Not direct: Not focused straight at the target or subject; whose true aim appears secondary or obscure.

   Synonyms

   circuitous

4. Not direct: Not involving the quickest, shortest, or most convenient path; oblique.

   Synonyms

   circuitous

   Examples

   In an effort to beat the traffic jams, they opted to take an indirect route to their destination.

5. Not direct: Employing argument by contradiction; making use the law of the excluded middle; arguing via the contrapositive.

   Usage

   • of a proof

   Synonyms

   circuitous

6. Figuratively

7. Figuratively Not straightforward, fair, or honest; corrupt.

   Usage

   • Archaic

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   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?

Noun

1. An indirect cost.

   Examples

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   In the case of a piece of equipment such as a pump, the supplier's costs may be broken down into the directs of labour, material, and component costs on the one hand, and the indirects of customized engineering, sales, factory overheads, and order management costs on the other.

   2010, Anna M. Gil-Lafuente and José M. Merigó (editos), Computational Intelligence in Business and Economics Gradually analytical thinking was taking a greater awareness of the importance it took for all the investigation system of the possible identification or traceability of fixed costs and, in general, of the indirects of other times.

2. An indirect radiator.

   Examples

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   Indirect radiators are seldom installed except for rooms on the first or second floors; and in the former case the duct, D, is very short, and in the latter it is usually from 12 to 16 feet long. It should be stated in this connection that indirects of large size should be spread out as much as possible so as to give a large area against the current of air.

Verb

1. To access by means of indirection; to dereference.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Examples

   The X operations access the data fields by indirecting through the _rep pointer.

   These correspond to an indirected parallel write and an indirected parallel read operation respectively.

Adjective

1. having intervening factors or persons or influences

   Examples

   reflection from the ceiling provided a soft indirect light

   indirect evidence

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   an indirect cause

2. not direct in spatial dimension; not leading by a straight line or course to a destination

   Antonyms

   direct

   Examples

   sometimes taking an indirect path saves time

   you must take an indirect course in sailing

3. descended from a common ancestor but through different lines

   Synonyms

   collateral

   Examples

   cousins are collateral relatives

   an indirect descendant of the Stuarts

4. extended senses; not direct in manner or language or behavior or action

   Antonyms

   direct

   Examples

   making indirect but legitimate inquiries

   an indirect insult

   More examples (3)

   doubtless they had some indirect purpose in mind

   though his methods are indirect they are not dishonest

   known as a shady indirect fellow

5. not as a direct effect or consequence

   Examples

   indirect benefits

   an indirect advantage