indirectness

noun

as in impenetrability

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of indirectness More often, though, the indirectness and the anonymity of digital exchanges have sabotaged understanding. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for indirectness
  1. impenetrability
  2. incomprehensibility
  3. circuity
  4. vagueness
  5. uncertainty
  6. profoundness
  7. complexity
Noun
  • What The Dark Wizard does differently is grapple with Potter’s impenetrability without being able to resolve it, and consider how that indecision might change our perceptions of his life and his May 2015 death while BASE jumping in Yosemite.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 7 May 2026
  • Byrne is generous with his time and attention, but there’s also a Warholian air of mystery about him—a gentle impenetrability, a feeling of separateness.
    — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
Definition of impenetrability
Noun
  • This was only the start of the incomprehensibility of this segment.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 6 Feb. 2026
  • This incomprehensibility was in no small part due to the way Turing had incorporated the conventions of the tape reader into the system software.
    — Alan Turing, IEEE Spectrum, 26 Oct. 2017
Definition of incomprehensibility
Noun
  • Duco negates the need for any human intervention by leveraging a hanging robotic system that automatically sketches multi-layered circuity to enable novel large-scale interfaces.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 1 Oct. 2021
  • Mazzone hopes that studying the neural circuity for coughing will eventually lead to new therapies.
    — Sarah Zhang, Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2012
Definition of circuity
Noun
  • The vagueness of Carr’s post may be useful for his and Trump’s ongoing battle against the news media.
    — Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The council member then upbraided the SpaceX representative for the vagueness of some of her replies.
    — Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of vagueness
Noun
  • The song’s origins offer a glimpse into the uncertainty surrounding Nicks and Buckingham before their personal lives became intertwined with Fleetwood Mac’s rise to superstardom.
    — Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The era of agentic AI has arrived, but there is uncertainty about what the landscape will look like when virtual storefronts become flooded with AI agents or when a business tries to block them.
    — Kevin Williams, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of uncertainty
Noun
  • As a result of that, there’s a profoundness to their relationship.
    — Matt Minton, Variety, 20 July 2026
  • For Twitty, the book’s profoundness resides between the lines.
    — The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 June 2026
Definition of profoundness
Noun
  • Most of the redesign projects Menabóh takes on cost between €300 and €1,000, depending on the complexity of the craftmanship, but some sit beyond this range.
    — Bella Webb, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2026
  • And ultimately, Glover believes the greatest wonder isn't the moon, the stars, or even the incredible complexity of nature.
    — Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of complexity

Browse Nearby Words

indirectly
indirectness
indiscernible
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Indirectness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/indirectness. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of quondam

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All