Phrase guide

free indirect speech

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The literary device of writing a character's first-person thoughts in the voice of the third-person narrator.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, literature, media, publishing, sciences, semantics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Danish: dækket direkte tale — indirect speech imitating direct speech
  • French: discours indirect libre — indirect speech imitating direct speech
  • Japanese: 自由間接話法 (jiyū kansetsu wahō) — indirect speech imitating direct speech
  • Korean: 자유 간접 화법 (jayu ganjeop hwabeop) — indirect speech imitating direct speech
  • Polish: mowa pozornie zależna — indirect speech imitating direct speech
  • Portuguese: discurso indireto livre — indirect speech imitating direct speech