indirect
adjective OPAL W
/ˌɪndəˈrekt/, /ˌɪndaɪˈrekt/
/ˌɪndəˈrekt/, /ˌɪndaɪˈrekt/
[usually before noun]- happening not as the main aim, cause or result of a particular action, but in addition to it
- the indirect effects of the war
- to find something out by indirect methods
- The building collapsed as an indirect result of the heavy rain.
- There would be some benefit, however indirect, to the state.
- indirect costs (= costs that are not directly connected with making a product, for example training, heating, rent, etc.)
- not done directly; done through somebody/something else
- territories under the indirect control of the British
- avoiding saying something in a clear and obvious way
- The comment was an indirect attack on the prime minister.
- The president made an indirect reference to the subject in his speech.
- not going in a straight line
- an indirect route
- The plant prefers indirect sunlight.
opposite direct
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘not in full grammatical concord’): from medieval Latin indirectus, from in- ‘not’ + directus (past participle of dirigere, from di- ‘distinctly’ or de- ‘down’ + regere ‘put straight’).