as in roundabout
not straightforward or direct
the cab driver took a very indirect route to the hotel a long-winded, indirect answer to a very simple question
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Recent Examples of indirect
Officials from the Trump administration engaged in talks with Iranian officials in Muscat, Oman, despite a dispute over whether the talks would be considered direct or indirect ahead of the meeting.
—
Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 12 Apr. 2025
While the dodo may have vanished due, in part, to indirect factors, the great auk’s extinction was driven by the destructive patterns of resource extraction that humans imposed on its environment.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 12 Apr. 2025
Speaking to Iranian state television from Algeria, Abbas Araghchi maintained the talks would be indirect, likely with Omani mediators shuttling between the parties.
—Jon Gambrell and Amir Vahdat, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2025
The Iranians reportedly agreed to engage in indirect talks with the U.S., through mediators in Oman.
—Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for indirect
Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 12 Apr. 2025
While the dodo may have vanished due, in part, to indirect factors, the great auk’s extinction was driven by the destructive patterns of resource extraction that humans imposed on its environment.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 12 Apr. 2025
Speaking to Iranian state television from Algeria, Abbas Araghchi maintained the talks would be indirect, likely with Omani mediators shuttling between the parties.
—Jon Gambrell and Amir Vahdat, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2025
The Iranians reportedly agreed to engage in indirect talks with the U.S., through mediators in Oman.
—Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for indirect
Recent Examples of Synonyms for indirect
Adjective
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Put another way, Coyle is building on her 2014 acknowledgement that GDP has lacking qualities, as do economic statistics broadly in her view, all of which is a heavy throat-clearing, roundabout way of getting back to the anecdote that begins this review.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
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There’s always a connection to me as a performer live onstage, but there are also dramaturgical decisions made to have something between us, to be sometimes inaccessible or roundabout.—
Helen Shaw,
The New Yorker,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The brand was recognized for using its knowledge to understand how trash can be used as part of a circular sustainability ecosystem for future automobiles.—
Matt Robison,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Apr. 2025
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The circular dots found near the center of the fossil indicate that a predatory marine reptile called a mosasaur took some bites of it.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
16 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Indirect.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/indirect. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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