Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Indirect

Inˊdi-rect′

,
Adj.
[Pref.
in-
not +
direct
: cf. F.
indirect
.]
1.
Not direct; not straight or rectilinear; deviating from a direct line or course; circuitous;
as, an
indirect
road
.
2.
Not tending to an aim, purpose, or result by the plainest course, or by obvious means, but obliquely or consequentially; by remote means;
as, an
indirect
accusation, attack, answer, or proposal
.
By what bypaths and
indirect
, crooked ways
I met this crown.
Shakespeare
3.
Not straightforward or upright; unfair; dishonest; tending to mislead or deceive.
Indirect
dealing will be discovered one time or other.
Tillotson.
4.
Not resulting directly from an act or cause, but more or less remotely connected with or growing out of it;
as,
indirect
results, damages, or claims
.
5.
(Logic & Math.)
Not reaching the end aimed at by the most plain and direct method;
as, an
indirect
proof, demonstration, etc.
Indirect claims
,
claims for remote or consequential damage. Such claims were presented to and thrown out by the commissioners who arbitrated the damage inflicted on the United States by the Confederate States cruisers built and supplied by Great Britain.
Indirect demonstration
,
a mode of demonstration in which proof is given by showing that any other supposition involves an absurdity (reductio ad absurdum), or an impossibility; thus, one quantity may be proved equal to another by showing that it can be neither greater nor less.
Indirect discourse
.
(Gram.)
See
Direct discourse
, under
Direct
.
Indirect evidence
,
evidence or testimony which is circumstantial or inferential, but without witness; – opposed to
direct evidence
.
Indirect tax
,
a tax, such as customs, excises, etc., exacted directly from the merchant, but paid indirectly by the consumer in the higher price demanded for the articles of merchandise.

Webster 1828 Edition


Indirect

INDIRECT'

,
Adj.
[L. indirectus; in and directus, from dirigo.]
1.
Not straight or rectilinear; deviating from a direct line or course; circuitous. From New York to England by Bordeaux, is an indirect course.
2.
Not direct; in a moral sense; not tending to a purpose by the shortest or plainest course, or by the obvious, ordinary means, but obliquely or consequentially; by remote means; as an indirect accusation; an indirect attack on reputation; an indirect answer or proposal. Hence,
3.
Wrong; improper.
4.
Not fair; not honest; tending to mislead or deceive.
Indirect dealing will be discovered one time or other.
5.
Indirect tax, is a tax or duty on articles of consumption, as an excise, customs, &c.

Definition 2024


indirect

indirect

English

Adjective

indirect (comparative more indirect, superlative most indirect)

  1. Not direct; roundabout; deceiving; setting a trap; confusing.
    • 1974, Thomas S. Szasz, M.D., chapter 8, in The Myth of Mental Illness, ISBN 0-06-091151-4, page 139-140:
      Indirect messages permit communicative contacts when,
      without them, the alternatives would be total inhibition, si-
      lence, and solitude on the one hand, or, on the other, com-
      municative 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 pro-
      vide 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. These communications are polyvalent: both
      the invitation and the response to it have several "levels" of
      meaning. One is the level of the overt message—that is,
      whether they will have dinner together, go to a movie, and so
      forth. Another, more covert, level pertains to the question of
      sexual activity: acceptance of the dinner invitation implies
      that sexual overtures might perhaps follow. Conversely, rejec-
      tion of the invitation means not only refusal of companionship
      for dinner but also of the possibility of further sexual explora-
      tion. There may be still other levels of meaning. For example,
      acceptance of the dinner invitation may be interpreted as a
      sign of personal or sexual worth and hence grounds for
      increased self-esteem, whereas its rejection may mean the
      opposite and generate feelings of worthlessness.

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations


French

Etymology

From in- + direct.

Adjective

indirect m (feminine singular indirecte, masculine plural indirects, feminine plural indirectes)

  1. indirect