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in·di·rect (ĭn′dĭ-rĕkt, -dī-)
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adj.
1. Diverging from a direct course; roundabout.
2.
a. Not proceeding straight to the point or object.
b. Not forthright and candid; devious.
3. Not directly planned for; secondary: indirect benefits.
4. Reporting the exact or approximate words of another with such changes as are necessary to bring the original statement into grammatical conformity with the sentence in which it is included: indirect discourse.
5. Logic Involving, relating to, or being the proof of a statement by the demonstration of the impossibility or absurdity of the statement's negation.
6. Sports Being an indirect free kick.
in′di·rectly adv.
in′di·rectness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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