In'di-rēct', a.
a. [Prefix in, not, and direct; Lat. indirectus, Fr. & Pr. indirect, Sp. indirecto, It. indiretto.]
Sense 1. Not direct; not straight or rectilinear; deviating from a direct line or course; circuitous.
Sense 2. 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; an indirect attack on reputation; an indirect answer or proposal.
By what by-paths and indirect, crooked ways I met this crown. Shak.
Sense 3. Not straightforward or upright; unfair; dishonest; tending to mislead or deceive.
Indirect dealing will be discovered one time or other. Tillotson.
Sense 4. (Logic & Math.) Not reaching the end aimed at by the most plain and direct method;—said of certain modes of demonstration in which the truth of a proposition is established by showing that any supposition opposed to it necessarily involves an absurdity or impossibility; thus, one line or magnitude may be proved equal to another by showing that it can neither be greater nor less than that other.