Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Indirect
Inˊdi-rect′
,Adj.
[Pref.
in-
not + direct
: cf. F. indirect
.] 1.
Not direct; not straight or rectilinear; deviating from a direct line or course; circuitous;
as, an
. indirect
road2.
Not tending to an aim, purpose, or result by the plainest course, or by obvious means, but obliquely or consequentially; by remote means;
as, an
. indirect
accusation, attack, answer, or proposalBy what bypaths and
I met this crown.
indirect
, crooked waysI met this crown.
Shakespeare
3.
Not straightforward or upright; unfair; dishonest; tending to mislead or deceive.
Indirect
dealing will be discovered one time or other. Tillotson.
4.
Not resulting directly from an act or cause, but more or less remotely connected with or growing out of it;
as,
. indirect
results, damages, or claims5.
(Logic & Math.)
Not reaching the end aimed at by the most plain and direct method;
as, an
indirect
proof, demonstration, etc.Indirect claims
, claims for remote or consequential damage. Such claims were presented to and thrown out by the commissioners who arbitrated the damage inflicted on the United States by the Confederate States cruisers built and supplied by Great Britain.
– Indirect demonstration
, a mode of demonstration in which proof is given by showing that any other supposition involves an absurdity (reductio ad absurdum), or an impossibility; thus, one quantity may be proved equal to another by showing that it can be neither greater nor less.
– Indirect discourse
. (Gram.)
See
– Direct discourse
, under Direct
. Indirect evidence
, evidence or testimony which is circumstantial or inferential, but without witness; – opposed to
– direct evidence
. Indirect tax
, a tax, such as customs, excises, etc., exacted directly from the merchant, but paid indirectly by the consumer in the higher price demanded for the articles of merchandise.
Webster 1828 Edition
Indirect
INDIRECT'
,Adj.
1.
Not straight or rectilinear; deviating from a direct line or course; circuitous. From New York to England by Bordeaux, is an indirect course.2.
Not direct; in a moral sense; not tending to a purpose by the shortest or plainest course, or by the obvious, ordinary means, but obliquely or consequentially; by remote means; as an indirect accusation; an indirect attack on reputation; an indirect answer or proposal. Hence,3.
Wrong; improper.4.
Not fair; not honest; tending to mislead or deceive. Indirect dealing will be discovered one time or other.
5.
Indirect tax, is a tax or duty on articles of consumption, as an excise, customs, &c.