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indirect request

[/ˌɪndɪˈrɛkt rɪˈkwɛst/]
nounpl: indirect requests
pedido indireto
1. A polite or implicit request made without directly stating what is wanted, often phrased as a question, suggestion, or hint
Instead of saying 'Close the door,' she made an indirect request by asking 'Would you mind closing the door?'
Em vez de dizer 'Feche a porta', ela fez um pedido indireto perguntando 'Você se importaria em fechar a porta?'
2. In linguistics and pragmatics, a speech act where the intended meaning differs from the literal meaning of the utterance
The statement 'Can you pass the salt?' is an indirect request for the salt to be passed
A afirmação 'Você pode passar o sal?' é um pedido indireto para que o sal seja passado
Synonyms
polite requestimplicit requesthinted requestoblique requestveiled request
Antonyms
direct requestexplicit requeststraightforward requestcommanddemand

Regional Variations

General Brazilian
pedido indireto
standard usage in formal and informal contexts
São Paulo
pedido indireto
commonly used in business and academic settings
Rio de Janeiro
pedido indireto
standard usage; sometimes simplified in casual speech
Portugal
pedido indireto
standard usage; equivalent to Brazilian Portuguese

Related Idioms & Phrases

beat around the bush
drop a hint
put out feelers
dance around the subject
soften the blow
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