Adjacent Words

Obtuse definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

OBTU'SE, a. [L. obtusus, from obtundo, to beat against.]
1. Blunt; not pointed or acute. Applied to angles, it denotes one that is larger than a right angle, or more than ninety degrees.
2. Dull; not having acute sensibility; as obtuse senses.
3. Not sharp or shrill; dull; obscure; as obtuse sound.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: of an angle; between 90 and 180 degrees [ant: acute]
2: (of a leaf shape) rounded at the apex
3: lacking in insight or discernment; "too obtuse to grasp the implications of his behavior"; "a purblind oligarchy that flatly refused to see that history was condemning it to the dustbin"- Jasper Griffin [syn: obtuse, purblind]
4: slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity; "so dense he never understands anything I say to him"; "never met anyone quite so dim"; "although dull at classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly quick"- Thackeray; "dumb officials make some really dumb decisions"; "he was either normally stupid or being deliberately obtuse"; "worked with the slow students" [syn: dense, dim, dull, dumb, obtuse, slow]

Merriam Webster's

adjective (obtuser; -est) Etymology: Middle English, from Latin obtusus blunt, dull, from past participle of obtundere to beat against, blunt, from ob- against + tundere to beat — more at ob-, contusion Date: 15th century 1. a. not pointed or acute ; blunt b. (1) of an angle exceeding 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees (2) having an obtuse angle <an obtuse triangle> — see triangle illustration c. of a leaf rounded at the free end 2. a. lacking sharpness or quickness of sensibility or intellect ; insensitive, stupid b. difficult to comprehend ; not clear or precise in thought or expression Synonyms: see dull • obtusely adverb • obtuseness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 dull-witted; slow to understand. 2 of blunt form; not sharp-pointed or sharp-edged. 3 (of an angle) more than 90° and less than 180°. 4 (of pain or the senses) dull; not acute. Derivatives: obtusely adv. obtuseness n. obtusity n. Etymology: L obtusus past part. (as OBTUND)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Obtuse Ob*tuse" a. [Compar. Obtuser; superl. Obtusest.] [L. obtusus, p. p. of obtundere to blunt: cf. F. obtus. See Obtund.] 1. Not pointed or acute; blunt; -- applied esp. to angles greater than a right angle, or containing more than ninety degrees. 2. Not having acute sensibility or perceptions; dull; stupid; as, obtuse senses. --Milton. 3. Dull; deadened; as, obtuse sound. --Johnson.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Someone who is obtuse has difficulty understanding things, or makes no effort to understand them. (FORMAL) I've really been very obtuse and stupid... ADJ • obtuseness Naivety bordering on obtuseness helped sustain his faith. 2. An obtuse angle is between 90° and 180°. Compare acute angle. (TECHNICAL) ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Blunt. 2. Dull, stupid, stolid, doltish, blockish, stockish, heavy, slow, unintelligent, unintellectual, dull-witted, blunt-witted. 3. Dull, obscure, deadened, muffled.

Moby Thesaurus

abrupt, affectless, anesthetized, arctic, asleep, autistic, benumbed, bluff, blunt, blunt-edged, blunt-ended, blunt-pointed, blunt-witted, blunted, bluntish, boneheaded, callous, catatonic, chill, chilly, cloddish, cold, cold as charity, cold-blooded, coldhearted, cool, dead, deadened, dense, dim, dim-witted, dispassionate, doltish, dopey, drugged, dull, dull of mind, dull-edged, dull-headed, dull-pated, dull-pointed, dull-witted, dulled, dullish, edgeless, emotionally dead, emotionless, faired, fat-witted, frigid, frosted, frosty, frozen, gross-headed, heartless, heavy, hebetudinous, icy, immovable, impassible, impassive, imperceptive, impercipient, inexcitable, insensate, insensible, insensitive, insentient, insusceptible, loutish, lumpish, mentally retarded, nonemotional, numb, numbed, oafish, obdurate, objective, out of touch, passionless, pointless, rounded, self-absorbed, simple, slow, slow-witted, sluggish, smoothed, soulless, spiritless, stolid, thick, thick-brained, thick-headed, thick-pated, thick-skinned, thick-witted, thickheaded, thickskulled, unaffectionate, unedged, unemotional, unfeeling, unfelt, unimpassioned, unimpressionable, unloving, unpassionate, unperceptive, unpointed, unresponding, unresponsive, unsharp, unsharpened, unsusceptible, unsympathetic, untouchable, wooden