indirect

/ˌɪndɪˈrekt/ adjective

Definition

› not done or communicated in a direct way: We decided to take an indirect approach to tackling the problem of absenteeism. He made only an indirect reference to what had happened at the meeting.

› happening in addition to an intended result, often in a way that is complicated or not obvious: This is the indirect effect of a bad business climate that discourages companies from expanding here. Incentives can pay for themselves through jobs and indirect benefits to the local economy. Here the deregulation affected the environment, but in a more indirect way.

indirectly /ˌɪndɪˈrektli/ adverb › Bosses were indirectly blamed for a stressful environment.

(Definition of indirect adjective from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Focus on the pronunciation of indirect