How to Use indirect in a Sentence

indirect

adjective
Definition of indirectnext
Synonyms for indirectnext
  • Looking at her watch was her indirect way of telling him it was time to leave.
  • These plants grow best in bright indirect light.
  • Poor nutrition may have been an indirect cause of the disease.
  • We took an indirect route.
  • The cigarette stubs were indirect evidence that someone had been smoking in the room.
  • He gave only vague, indirect answers to our questions.
  • There were many indirect references to his earlier books.
  • They used indirect methods of investigation.
  • Manilow took that to be an indirect way of advising him not to do the same.
    — Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Jan. 2024
  • Place the stem in a cup in bright, indirect sunlight for about three weeks while the roots begin to grow.
    — Grace Haynes, Southern Living, 11 Mar. 2024
  • The indirect transfer of heat from the stove to the ceiling is convection.
    — Rhett Allain, WIRED, 25 Aug. 2023
  • Place steaks over the indirect flame (the grill temperature should be about 300°F) and cook the meat low and slow with the lid closed.
    — Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 May 2023
  • To prolong the life of your blooms, place your Easter lily in bright, indirect light in a cool, but not drafty, spot in your home.
    — Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 29 Jan. 2024
  • The care couldn't be easier: bright indirect light and water on the dry side.
    — Marianne Willburn, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Dec. 2022
  • Flip dough and grill over indirect heat, then top as desired.
    — Joy Cho, Women's Health, 21 Aug. 2023
  • The effect is indirect or silent, at least if the fiction is good and not didactic.
    — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 31 July 2023
  • This indoor plant grows best in bright, indirect light.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 4 Dec. 2023
  • Then, the pellets are burned in the cooking chamber, cooking food with indirect heat.
    — Andrea Wurzburger, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Apr. 2023
  • Direct and indirect links between banks and non-banks are not the only sources of system-wide risk.
    — Anna Cooban, CNN, 6 Apr. 2023
  • But the method is indirect, and clouds can contaminate the results.
    — Alex Cuadros, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2023
  • The result is dishes such as a 45-day dry-aged tomahawk steak, cooked for three hours near indirect flame and finished on the grill.
    — Detroit Free Press, 23 Feb. 2024
  • In recent months, Oman has hosted indirect talks to try to ease tensions between Iran and the United States.
    — Eric Lipton, New York Times, 20 June 2023
  • Their best chance to tie came eight minutes into the second half when Alexander Jacques’ shot off an indirect kick from 15 yards went just wide of the far post.
    — Glenn Graham, Baltimore Sun, 31 Aug. 2023
  • Plus, tillandsia are easy to care for and only need medium to bright indirect sunlight.
    — Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 1 Dec. 2023
  • Joyce’s whole quest to contact Lucy, and her correspondence with her, may in an indirect way be a product of that guilt.
    — Benjamin Hale, Harper's Magazine, 10 July 2023
  • All the gears are indirect, with the famous—and flawless—Porsche servo-ring synchromesh.
    — Car and Driver, 27 Jan. 2023
  • For many companies, those indirect emissions dwarf all the rest.
    — WIRED, 24 Mar. 2023
  • This passage occurs in one of the chapters seen from Maugham’s point of view; the writing is thus offering a kind of free indirect style.
    — James Wood, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023
  • Staghorn ferns need bright indirect light and like to stay lightly and consistently moist.
    — Kate McGregor, housebeautiful.com, 21 Apr. 2023
  • Place your plant by an east-facing window to provide the perfect balance of indirect light.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 4 Dec. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'indirect.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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