Meaning & use
indirectly
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Meanings
adverbnot comparable
Through other people, things or steps rather than straight from the source.
Grammar: Goes with verbs like affect or benefit: indirectly affected.
Patterns
- indirectly responsible
- indirectly affect something
The new tax indirectly affects renters.
I heard about the job indirectly through a friend.
Many people benefit indirectly from the research.
adverbnot comparable
In a hint or roundabout way, without saying something plainly.
Grammar: Used about speech or criticism.
Patterns
- say something indirectly
She criticized him indirectly by praising his colleague.
He asked indirectly whether we were free.
The letter hinted indirectly at a problem.
adverbnot comparablerare
By a route that is not straight.
Grammar: Less common, used about travel or movement.
Patterns
- travel indirectly
The package traveled indirectly via three cities.
We went indirectly to the coast, stopping at villages.
The river flows indirectly to the sea.
Common combinations
- indirectly responsible
- He felt indirectly responsible for the delay.
- indirectly affect
- Weather indirectly affects prices.
- indirectly related
- The two events are indirectly related.
- indirectly benefit
- Residents indirectly benefit from the new park.
- indirectly cause
- Stress can indirectly cause illness.
Synonyms and how they differ
- obliquely
- Obliquely is formal and describes speaking in a roundabout, hinting way.
- secondhand
- Secondhand describes information received through another person.
- implicitly
- Implicitly means suggested without being stated, while indirectly includes intermediate steps.
- by extension
- By extension means as a further result of something.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: indirectly or indirect?
indirectly vs indirect
Indirect is the adjective and indirectly is the adverb: an indirect cause, indirectly caused.
Practice
The factory closure ____ affected the local shops, which lost customers.
Choose one answer.
We need an adverb to modify affected, and the effect came through lost customers, so indirectly fits. Directly would describe an immediate effect.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “indirectly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.