indirectness

noun

as in impenetrability

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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
  • Word-of-mouth dies from vagueness more often than from distrust.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 22 Sep. 2026
  • What erodes trust is vagueness, backtracking and the sense that someone is managing you rather than leveling with you.
    — Aleeza Gerstein, The Conversation, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of vagueness
Noun
  • For a government overseeing a population dominated by mobile expats, that created a lot of uncertainty in terms of establishing an economic base that can support a welfare system and basic state infrastructure.
    — Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The shooting has brought medical expenses and uncertainty to her family, according to the fundraising campaign.
    — Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 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
  • The complexity of the facade work will require detailed planning and coordination, and compliance with historic preservation requirements, the hotel says.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Due to the complexity of the production, the crows were digitally designed, while Prue and Mac were practical handmade puppets.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of complexity

Browse Nearby Words

indirectly
indirectness
indiscernible
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Cite this Entry

“Indirectness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/indirectness. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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