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   In·di·rect

   /ˌindəˈrek(t)/

   

   adjective

   • 1. not directly caused by or resulting from something: "full employment would have an indirect effect on wage levels" Similar incidentalaccidentalunintendedsecondarysubordinateancillarycollateralconcomitantaccompanyingcontingentresultingresultantconsequentialderivedderivativeOpposite direct
   • ▪ not done directly; conducted through intermediaries: "the nature of the threat can be pieced together only from indirect evidence"
   • ▪ (of costs) deriving from overhead charges or subsidiary work: "hidden or indirect costs involved in training"
   • ▪ (of taxation) levied on goods and services rather than income or profits.
   • 2. (of a route) not straight; not following the shortest way: "he took a careful, indirect route home from his dockside rendezvous" Similar roundaboutcircuitousdeviantdivergentwanderingmeanderingserpentinewindingcurvingtortuouszigzagrare:anfractuousOpposite direct
   • ▪ (of lighting) from a concealed source and diffusely reflected: "fittings were installed to give a subdued, indirect light in the nave"
   • ▪ denoting a free kick from which a goal may not be scored directly.
   • 3. avoiding direct mention or exposition of a subject: "this constitutes an indirect attack on workers everywhere" Similar obliqueinexplicitroundaboutcircuitousimplicitimpliedallusive

   Word Origin late Middle English (in the sense ‘not in full grammatical concord’): from medieval Latin indirectus, from in- ‘not’ + directus (see direct).

   Derivatives

   • 1. indirectness noun

   Scrabble Points: 11

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   • N

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   • D

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   • I

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   • R

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   • E

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   • C

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   • T

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