Adjacent Words

Blunt definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BLUNT, a. [from the root of Gr.to dull.]
1. Having a thick edge or point, as an instrument; dull; not sharp.
2. Dull in understanding; slow of discernment.
3. Abrupt in address; plain; unceremonious; wanting the forms of civility; rough in manners or speech.
4. Hard to penetrate. [Unusual.]
BLUNT, v.t. To dull the edge or point, by making it thicker.
1. To repress or weaken any appetite, desire or power of the mind; to impair the force of any passion which affects the mind, or of any evil or good which affects the body; as, to blunt the edge of love, of pain, or of suffering.
Your ceaseless endeavors will be exerted to blunt the stings of pain.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: having a broad or rounded end; "thick marks made by a blunt pencil"
2: used of a knife or other blade; not sharp; "a blunt instrument"
3: characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion; "blunt talking and straight shooting"; "a blunt New England farmer"; "I gave them my candid opinion"; "forthright criticism"; "a forthright approach to the problem"; "tell me what you think--and you may just as well be frank"; "it is possible to be outspoken without being rude"; "plainspoken and to the point"; "a point-blank accusation" [syn: blunt, candid, forthright, frank, free-spoken, outspoken, plainspoken, point-blank, straight-from-the-shoulder]
4: devoid of any qualifications or disguise or adornment; "the blunt truth"; "the crude facts"; "facing the stark reality of the deadline" [syn: blunt, crude, stark] v
1: make less intense; "blunted emotions"
2: make numb or insensitive; "The shock numbed her senses" [syn: numb, benumb, blunt, dull]
3: make dull or blunt; "Too much cutting dulls the knife's edge" [syn: dull, blunt] [ant: sharpen]
4: make less sharp; "blunt the knives"
5: make less lively, intense, or vigorous; impair in vigor, force, activity, or sensation; "Terror blunted her feelings"; "deaden a sound" [syn: deaden, blunt] [ant: animate, enliven, invigorate, liven, liven up]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English Date: 13th century 1. a. slow or deficient in feeling ; insensitive b. obtuse in understanding or discernment ; dull 2. having an edge or point that is not sharp <a blunt instrument> 3. a. abrupt in speech or manner b. being straight to the point ; direct Synonyms: see dull, bluff • bluntly adverb • bluntness noun II. verb Date: 14th century transitive verb to make less sharp, definite, or forceful intransitive verb to become blunt III. noun Etymology: blunt a short, thick cigar, from ¹blunt Date: 1990 a cigar that has been hollowed out and filled with marijuana

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & v. --adj. 1 (of a knife, pencil, etc.) lacking in sharpness; having a worn-down point or edge. 2 (of a person or manner) direct, uncompromising, outspoken. --v.tr. make blunt or less sharp. Derivatives: bluntly adv. (in sense 2 of adj.). bluntness n. Etymology: ME perh. f. Scand.: cf. ON blunda shut the eyes

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Blunt Blunt, a. [Cf. Prov. G. bludde a dull or blunt knife, Dan. blunde to sleep, Sw. & Icel. blunda; or perh. akin to E. blind.] 1. Having a thick edge or point, as an instrument; dull; not sharp. The murderous knife was dull and blunt. --Shak. 2. Dull in understanding; slow of discernment; stupid; -- opposed to acute. His wits are not so blunt. --Shak. 3. Abrupt in address; plain; unceremonious; wanting the forms of civility; rough in manners or speech. ``Hiding his bitter jests in blunt behavior.'' ``A plain, blunt man.'' --Shak. 4. Hard to impress or penetrate. [R.] I find my heart hardened and blunt to new impressions. --Pope. Note: Blunt is much used in composition, as blunt-edged, blunt-sighted, blunt-spoken. Syn: Obtuse; dull; pointless; curt; short; coarse; rude; brusque; impolite; uncivil.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Blunt Blunt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blunted; p. pr. & vb. n. Blunting.] 1. To dull the edge or point of, by making it thicker; to make blunt. --Shak. 2. To repress or weaken, as any appetite, desire, or power of the mind; to impair the force, keenness, or susceptibility, of; as, to blunt the feelings.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Blunt Blunt, n. 1. A fencer's foil. [Obs.] 2. A short needle with a strong point. See Needle. 3. Money. [Cant] --Beaconsfield.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(blunter, bluntest, blunts, blunting, blunted) 1. If you are blunt, you say exactly what you think without trying to be polite. She is blunt about her personal life... She told the industry in blunt terms that such discrimination is totally unacceptable. ADJ • bluntly 'I don't believe you!' Jeanne said bluntly... To put it bluntly, he became a pain. ADV: ADV with v • bluntness His bluntness got him into trouble. N-UNCOUNT: oft poss N 2. A blunt object has a rounded or flat end rather than a sharp one. One of them had been struck 13 times over the head with a blunt object. ? pointed ADJ: ADJ n 3. A blunt knife or blade is no longer sharp and does not cut well. ? sharp ADJ 4. If something blunts an emotion, a feeling or a need, it weakens it. The constant repetition of violence has blunted the human response to it... VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Dull, obtuse, pointless, edgeless. 2. Dull-witted, dull, thick-witted, obtuse, stupid, stolid. 3. Abrupt, bluff, plain, uncourtly, unceremonious, without formal civility. 4. Brusk (or brusque), rough, harsh, uncourteous, ungracious, impolite, rude. II. v. a. 1. Dull, make dull. 2. Benumb, paralyze, deaden, stupefy, obtund, hebetate, make insensible, callous, or obtuse. 3. Moderate, allay, assuage, mitigate, quiet, alleviate, soften.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

Money. Cant.

Moby Thesaurus

KO, abate, abrupt, affectless, aggressive, allay, alleviate, anesthetize, anesthetized, arctic, artless, assuage, attemper, attenuate, autistic, bank the fire, bate, bearish, beastly, bedaze, benumb, besot, bluff, blunt-edged, blunt-ended, blunt-pointed, blunt-witted, blunted, bluntish, blur, born yesterday, brash, brass, bread, brief, broad, brusque, cabbage, candid, catatonic, cavalier, chasten, childlike, chill, chilly, chips, chloroform, churlish, cold, cold as charity, cold-blooded, coldcock, coldhearted, confiding, constrain, control, cool, cramp, cripple, crusty, curt, damp, dampen, de-emphasize, deaden, debilitate, deflect, desensitize, deter, devitalize, dim, dim-witted, diminish, dinero, direct, disable, disaffect, discourage, discourteous, disedge, disincline, disinterest, dispassionate, distract, divert, do-re-mi, dope, dopey, downplay, downright, draw the teeth, drug, drugged, dull, dull of mind, dull-edged, dull-headed, dull-pated, dull-pointed, dull-witted, dulled, dullish, edgeless, efface, emotionally dead, emotionless, enervate, enfeeble, etherize, eviscerate, exhaust, explicit, extenuate, faired, fat-witted, forthright, frank, frankhearted, free, free hand, free-acting, free-going, free-moving, free-speaking, free-spoken, free-tongued, freehanded, freeze, frigid, frosted, frosty, frozen, genuine, gross-headed, gruel, gruff, guileless, harsh, heart-to-heart, heartless, heavy, hebetate, hebetudinous, icy, immovable, impassible, impassive, impolite, inconsiderate, indelicate, indispose, inexcitable, ingenu, ingenuous, innocent, insensitive, insusceptible, jack, kayo, keep within bounds, knock out, knock senseless, knock stiff, knock unconscious, lay, lay low, lay out, lenify, lessen, lighten, mitigate, moderate, modulate, mollify, mull, naive, narcotize, nonemotional, numb, objective, obscure, obtund, obtuse, open, openhearted, out of touch, outspoken, palliate, palsy, paralyze, passionless, plain, plain-spoken, play down, pointless, put off, put to sleep, quench, rattle, reduce, reduce the temperature, repel, repress, restrain, retund, rough, round, rounded, rude, sap, self-absorbed, severe, shake, shake up, sharp, short, simple, simplehearted, simpleminded, sincere, single-hearted, single-minded, slacken, slow, slow down, slow-witted, sluggish, smoothed, smother, snippety, snippy, sober, sober down, soften, soften up, soothe, soulless, spiritless, stifle, straight, straight-out, straightforward, stun, stupefy, subdue, suppress, surly, tame, temper, thick-brained, thick-headed, thick-pated, thick-witted, thickskulled, thoughtless, tone down, transparent, truculent, trustful, trusting, tune down, turn, turn aside, turn away, turn from, turn off, unaffectionate, unbrace, unceremonious, unchecked, uncivil, uncomplicated, uncompromising, unconstrained, undermine, underplay, undiplomatic, unedged, unemotional, unequivocal, unfeeling, ungracious, unguarded, unimpassioned, unimpressionable, unloving, unman, unnerve, unpassionate, unpointed, unreserved, unresponding, unresponsive, unrestrained, unsharp, unsharpened, unsophisticated, unstrengthen, unstring, unsusceptible, unsuspicious, unsympathetic, untouchable, unwary, weaken, wean from, wooden, worn