Indirectness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The attribute of conveying information in a non-straightforward way involves subtlety or ambiguity in expression
2. A manner of communication that avoids direct expression and implies meanings through subtlety, often resulting in ambiguity or confusion
3. The quality of expressing ideas or intentions in a roundabout or less explicit manner

Etymology: The word is a plain formation: the adjective "indirect" with the suffix "-ness" attached, turning a quality into a noun. "Indirect" itself comes from the Latin "indirectus," built from "in-" (not) and "directus" (straight), so its core sense is "not straight." The suffix has an older pedigree than the Latin borrowing. "-ness" descends from Old English "-nes," which in turn traces back through Proto-Germanic forms to a very old Indo-European suffix that formed abstract nouns of quality. That is why English can take almost any adjective and make it into a noun of state, so "indirect" became "indirectness" with no fuss. The suffix was productive for centuries, which is why nearly every adjective in the language has a ready-made noun partner. The result is a word whose literal meaning is simply "the condition of not being straight," and its figurative sense of avoiding the plain route in speech follows naturally from that picture of a path that bends away from the target.

Synonyms: deviation, obliqueness, circuitousness, roundaboutness, ambiguity

Antonyms: directness, straightness, clarity, explicitness, frankness