indirect
adjectives
having intervening factors or persons or influences
"reflection from the ceiling provided a soft indirect light"; "indirect evidence"; "an indirect cause"
is similar to
acting through or dependent on an intervening agency
"the disease spread by mediate as well as direct contact"
not direct in spatial dimension; not leading by a straight line or course to a destination
"sometimes taking an indirect path saves time"; "you must take an indirect course in sailing"
is derived from
antonym
is similar to
(used especially of glances) directed to one side with or as if with doubt or suspicion or envy
"her eyes with their misted askance look"- Elizabeth Bowen; "sidelong glances"
is similar to
deviating from a straight course
"a scenic but devious route"; "a long and circuitous journey by train and boat"; "a roundabout route avoided rush-hour traffic"
is similar to
of a path e.g.
"meandering streams"; "rambling forest paths"; "the river followed its wandering course"; "a winding country road"
see also
having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned
"crooked country roads"; "crooked teeth"
is an attribute of
trueness of course toward a goal
"rivaling a hawk in directness of aim"
descended from a common ancestor but through different lines
"cousins are collateral relatives"; "an indirect descendant of the Stuarts"
extended senses; not direct in manner or language or behavior or action
"making indirect but legitimate inquiries"; "an indirect insult"; "doubtless they had some indirect purpose in mind"; "though his methods are indirect they are not dishonest"; "known as a shady indirect fellow"
antonym
is similar to
characterized by indirect references
"allusive speech is characterized by allusions"
is similar to
roundabout or ambiguous
"attacks from that source amounted to a backhanded compliment to his integrity"; "a backhanded and dishonest way of reaching his goal"
is similar to
marked by obliqueness or indirection in speech or conduct
"the explanation was circuitous and puzzling"; "a roundabout paragraph"; "hear in a roundabout way that her ex-husband was marrying her best friend"
is similar to
roundabout and unnecessarily wordy
"had a preference for circumlocutious (or circumlocutory) rather than forthright expression"; "A periphrastic study in a worn-out poetical fashion,/ Leaving one still with the intolerable wrestle/ With words and meanings."-T.S.Eliot; (`ambagious' is archaic)
is similar to
indirect in departing from the accepted or proper way; misleading
"used devious means to achieve success"; "gave oblique answers to direct questions"; "oblique political maneuvers"
is similar to
(of e.g. speech and writing) tending to depart from the main point or cover a wide range of subjects
"amusingly digressive with satirical thrusts at women's fashions among other things"; "a rambling discursive book"; "his excursive remarks"; "a rambling speech about this and that"
is similar to
hesitant to state facts or opinions simply and directly as from e.g. timidity or hypocrisy
"a mealymouthed politician"
not as a direct effect or consequence
"indirect benefits"; "an indirect advantage"
is derived from
is similar to
being of second rank or importance or value; not direct or immediate
"the stone will be hauled to a secondary crusher"; "a secondary source"; "a secondary issue"; "secondary streams"
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