indirectly
adverb
Simple meaning
Not in a forthright way.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihnderehktleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪndɚˈɛktli
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.
adverb
Not in a forthright manner
In an indirect manner.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Not in a forthright manner
Used this way, indirectly is a reasonably familiar word that can pull warm or cold depending on the sentence. It comes across as direct, sometimes bluntly so.
- Emotional tone
- Mixed
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Direct, sometimes tactless
- Usage feel
- Blunt and forceful
Usage note
The same wording can read approvingly or critically, so the surrounding sentence has to make the intent clear.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use indirectly
- “He answered very indirectly.”adverb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Not direct in spatial dimension.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
A method of using fluorescence microscopy to detect the presence of an antigen indirectly.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “indirectly” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
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.