indirection

noun

in·​di·​rec·​tion ˌin-də-ˈrek-shən 

-(ˌ)dī-

1

a

: indirect action or procedure

b

: lack of direction : aimlessness

2

a

: lack of straightforwardness and openness : deceitfulness

… securing money from his father by sly indirection.

—H. A. Overstreet

b

: something (such as an act or statement) marked by lack of straightforwardness

Her rhetoric had many layers of indirection.

Examples of indirection in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Their plan for stealing it right out from under her involves everything from impersonating a Vanity Fair photographer to having Daniel crash the party with a big speech that’s a masterpiece of indirection. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 Nov. 2025

Because the women can’t vote or hold public office, their improvements get implemented through a mixture of trickery and indirection. —Deborah Williams july 14, Literary Hub, 14 July 2025

Compared with Severance’s usual storytelling mode in season two, where any explicit plot point is buried in layers of ambiguity, vagueness, and artful indirection, the conversation between the Marks is immediately, beautifully blunt. —Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025

His direction is the art of indirection, something borne out by other films in the MOMA retrospective. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for indirection

• circumspection
• disaffection
• disconnection
• disinfection
• dorsiflexion
• imperfection
• insurrection
• intellection
• interjection
• intersection
• introjection
• introspection