blunt
adjective
having an obtuse, thick, or dull edge or point; rounded; not sharp.
blunt
American
[bluhnt]
/ blʌnt /
adjective
-
blunter,
comparative
-
bluntest
superlative
-
having an obtuse, thick, or dull edge or point; rounded; not sharp.
a blunt pencil.
-
abruptly plain and direct in address or manner, without attempting to be tactful.
a blunt, ill-timed question.
-
slow in perception or understanding; obtuse.
His isolation has made him blunt about the feelings of others.
verb (used with object)
-
blunts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
blunted,
past participle, past
-
blunting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
blunts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
blunted,
past participle, past
-
blunting
present participle
noun
-
blunts
plural
-
something blunt, as a small-game arrow, a short sewing needle, or a short, thick cigar.
-
Slang. a cigar stuffed with marijuana.
blunt
1
British
/ blʌnt /
adjective
-
(esp of a knife or blade) lacking sharpness or keenness; dull
-
not having a sharp edge or point
a blunt instrument
-
(of people, manner of speaking, etc) lacking refinement or subtlety; straightforward and uncomplicated
-
outspoken; direct and to the point
a blunt Yorkshireman
verb
-
to make less sharp
-
to diminish the sensitivity or perception of; make dull
noun
Blunt
2
British
/ blʌnt /
noun
-
Anthony . 1907–83, British art historian and Soviet spy
-
Wilfred Scawen . 1840–1922, British poet, traveller, and anti-imperialist
Usage
What is a basic definition of blunt? Blunt describes something as being not sharp or as being straightforward. Blunt is commonly used as a slang noun to mean a marijuana cigarette. Blunt has several other senses as an adjective, verb, and noun. If something is blunt, it has a flat surface or is rounded. Blunt objects lack points and will slam, prod, or smash rather than pierce, puncture, or stab. In this sense, blunt is the opposite of sharp. For example, a sword is a sharp weapon that has a fine point that can pierce or has a fine edge that can slice. On the other hand, a baseball bat is a blunt object that is rounded with a flat surface. You can’t cut or slice anything with a baseball bat. Real-life examples: Sledgehammers, baseball bats, and tubes are all blunt objects. Used in a sentence: He smacked the nails with the blunt end of the hammer. In this same sense, blunt means to make something not sharp. Used in a sentence: She blunted the knife by trying to use it to cut plaster. Blunt can also mean something is straightforward or direct. Usually, this sense refers to comments or statements that are abrupt. For example, saying that your girlfriend’s new dress is ugly is a blunt statement because it directly states an opinion. As you might guess, this sense of blunt is often used interchangeably with words such as rude, curt, and explicit. The adverb bluntly most often refers to this sense of blunt. Used in a sentence: “I really hate that guy,” Shirley said bluntly. In slang, a blunt is a rolled cigarette or cigar that contains marijuana. Used in a sentence: I saw him smoking a blunt out back on the porch.
Synonym Usage
See dull. Blunt, bluff, brusque, curt characterize manners and speech. Blunt suggests lack of polish and of regard for the feelings of others: blunt and tactless. Bluff implies an unintentional roughness together with so much good-natured heartiness that others rarely take offense: a bluff sea captain. Brusque connotes sharpness and abruptness of speech or manner: a brusque denial. Curt applies especially to disconcertingly concise language: a curt reply. See dull.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bluntsimple
-
bluntssimple
-
have bluntedperfect
-
has bluntedperfect
-
am bluntingprogressive
-
are bluntingprogressive
-
is bluntingprogressive
-
have been bluntingperfect progressive
-
has been bluntingperfect progressive
Past
-
bluntedsimple
-
had bluntedperfect
-
was bluntingprogressive
-
were bluntingprogressive
-
had been bluntingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of blunt
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English; perhaps akin to blind
Explanation
A blunt object is rounded — it isn't very pointy. A blunt comment is candid — it isn't very subtle. When we blunt things we make them less lively, sharp, or intense. Blunt and blunder ("make a stupid mistake") may have the same origins — the Old Norse blundra, meaning "to shut one's eyes." So don't be blunt ("dull" or "obtuse") — here are a few things you probably don't want to do: 1) use a blunt ("dull") knife to cut your tomatoes; 2) make a blunt ("outspoken") comment that might hurt someone's feelings; or 3) blunt ("deaden") the sound of your favorite music by sticking cotton balls in your ears.
Vocabulary lists containing blunt
The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 1
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List 5
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The certificate lists Mackie’s cause of death as a subarachnoid hemorrhage and blunt head trauma.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
"My theory of victory is simple: we will block the initial attack. If the attack persists, we will blunt it and prevent enemy advance," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
When CBS’ “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan asked whether broadcasting Hasan’s execution could encourage radicalization by turning him into a martyr, Mullin offered a blunt response: “No one has to watch it.”
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
Air regulations ban all blades with sharp points and typically blunt knives longer than six centimeters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
A small blunt head emerged and swiveled to face us.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
At Mizzou, he has also recruited specialists to the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
Martin Blunt, a small company that manufactures strings for muscial instruments in the northern suburbs of Buenos Aires, has had to shift to a four-day week in the face of falling demand.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
Oliver said she had loved music for as long as she could remember, citing Genesis, Pink Floyd, James Blunt and Birdy among the artists she listened to while she was growing up.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
Hollywood is no stranger to celebrity couples who are also co-stars, from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to Emily Blunt and John Krasinski.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Suddenly, Alex had had enough of Blunt, Mrs. Jones, Wolf...the whole stupid thing.
From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz
A walk after dinner, meaning 10 to 20 minutes of light movement, already consistently blunts unhealthy post-meal glucose spikes.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 21, 2026
Every shipment that makes it across the desert blunts the pressure from a closed strait and gives Gulf governments room to wait out the negotiations and shift the balance of power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
"The problem is that most evidence shows metformin blunts exercise benefits."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 18, 2025
The outrageous comedy of "Joan Is Awful" blunts whatever disquietude we may feel about the episode.
From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2023
I suppose our ultra-civilization blunts our astral perceptions.
From The Madcap of the School by Balliol Salmon
Amit Yair, 77, was blunter as he waited in a long queue to order coffee.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
The beta mom backlash is a response to several converging realities: A blunter cultural dialogue around maternal mental health that has stripped the glamour from “having it all,” and a shifting economic landscape.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
They were, to be blunter than that, living beyond their means.
From MarketWatch ● May 4, 2026
When pressed on whether she should speak to clients who would be her patients, to whom she owed a duty of care, she was blunter still.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2025
Sprat was even blunter: getting rid of the tyranny of the ancients simply involved throwing out what he called ‘the rubbish’.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
“It bears emphasizing that war is among the bluntest instruments available to policymakers—economic or military,” Singh writes.
From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026
In the bluntest language possible, it explained just how dangerous this was.
From New York Times ● Jun. 9, 2023
What Sullivan has left behind is the bluntest of warnings.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 19, 2022
He was bluntest in speaking of the war in Ukraine.
From Salon ● Mar. 3, 2022
"No; he has no family, and not many friends, for he says what he means in the bluntest English, and few stand the test his sincerity applies."
From Moods by Louisa May Alcott
But a separate appointment blunted the shock, and for some, is sending mixed signals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
China’s steady efforts to diversify its energy, especially in renewables, and building up its strategic petroleum reserves blunted the hit.
From Barron's ● May 7, 2026
Without that message, the itch-relief sensation is blunted, enabling excessive scratching that can damage the skin, according to Gualdani’s team.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026
Arteta has spoken previously about how chaos and attacking more directly were effective ways for Arsenal to create chances when Zubimendi's influence was blunted by being man-marked.
From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2026
Gogol’s copy is particularly battered, the corner blunted, the cover spotted as if by a whitish mold.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
The outage at QatarEnergy, the world’s largest LNG exporter, has in turn knocked offline the No. 1 global supplier of helium, while blunting regional fertilizer exports and jolting aluminum production.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
That likely keeps oil and energy prices elevated well into the summer months, and possibly beyond, keeping Treasury bond yields higher and blunting the chances of a Federal Reserve rate cut.
From Barron's ● Apr. 1, 2026
"Even before the tumors were palpable, we see about a 40 or 50% blunting of this corticosterone rhythm," he said.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 18, 2026
“I lose it sometimes. I cry my eyes out, for sure. I feel the full emotional impact of it, in slow motion. . . . There’s no blunting it for me.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2025
In the education journals of the day, there were constant worries about overtaxing students or blunting their natural abilities through too much schoolwork.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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