indirect
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Not direct in spatial dimension.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihnderehktSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪndɚˈɛkt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Not direct in spatial dimension; not leading by a straight line or course to a destination
“Sometimes taking an indirect path saves time.”
Not of obvious or immediate cause, but as a secondary result.
Not focused straight at the target or subject; whose true aim appears secondary or obscure.
Not involving the quickest, shortest, or most convenient path; oblique.
Figuratively
noun
An indirect radiator.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Not direct in spatial dimension; not leading by a straight line or course to a destination
Used this way, indirect is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Sometimes taking an indirect path saves time.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use indirect
- “Sometimes taking an indirect path saves time.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A report of a discourse in which deictic terms are modified appropriately (e.g., "he said `I am a fool'" would be modified to "he said he is a fool").
Evidence providing only a basis for inference about the fact in dispute.
An indirect way of expressing something.
Fire delivered on a target that is not itself used as the point of aim for the weapons.
A method of using fluorescence microscopy to detect the presence of an antigen indirectly.
A concealed lighting fixture.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.