indirect evidence

noun

: evidence that establishes immediately collateral facts from which the main fact may be inferred : circumstantial evidence

Examples of indirect evidence in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

We are left, then, with indirect evidence about how humans and other apes communicate today. — Hannah Little, Scientific American, 20 Sep. 2026

Dental thermometry Paleontologists have long argued about dinosaur physiology based on indirect evidence like bone microstructure, growth rates, and where fossils turn up on the map. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 20 Sep. 2026

Although astronomers are pretty sure there is a neutron star in the heart of the remnant based on indirect evidence, no pulsar radio emissions have yet been detected. — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 6 July 2026

However, there could be indirect evidence of the existence of multiple universes. — Zachary Slepian, The Conversation, 30 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

indirect evidence

see also:

evidence