obtuse

[uhb-toos, -tyoos]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR obtuse ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or intellect; not sensitive or observant; dull.

not sharp, acute, or pointed; blunt in form.

(of a leaf, petal, etc.) rounded at the extremity.

indistinctly felt or perceived, as pain or sound.

Origin of obtuse

1500–10; < Latin obtūsus dulled (past participle of obtundere), equivalent to ob- ob- + tūd-, variant stem of tundere to beat + -tus past participle suffix, with dt > s

Related formsob·tuse·ly, adverbob·tuse·ness, nounsub·ob·tuse, adjectivesub·ob·tuse·ly, adverbsub·ob·tuse·ness, noun

Can be confusedabstruse obtuse

Synonyms for obtuse

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR obtuse ON THESAURUS.COM

1. unfeeling, tactless, insensitive; blind, imperceptive, unobservant; gauche, boorish; slow, dim.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for obtusely

dumbly, dully

Examples from the Web for obtusely

Contemporary Examples of obtusely

Japanese geishas and Arab sheiks are also obtusely name-checked.
GM Is Racist, Pepsi Is Sexist & More in the Week in Offensive Ads (Video)
Kevin Fallon
May 2, 2013

Historical Examples of obtusely

The caps were obtusely convex and of a grayish rufescent color.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise
M. E. Hard
Seventh cervical: Spine as high as the arch, obtusely pointed.
The Beaked Whales of the Family Ziphidae
Frederick True
Occasionally the body-whorl is obtusely carinated just below the suture.
The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide
Augusta Foote Arnold
"She isn't poor; she is very well off," says Mr. Kelly, obtusely.
Rossmoyne
Unknown
"I suppose we might go inside, too," suggested Sylvia obtusely.
A Hoosier Chronicle
Meredith Nicholson

British Dictionary definitions for obtusely

obtuse

adjective

mentally slow or emotionally insensitive

maths

(of an angle) lying between 90° and 180°
(of a triangle) having one interior angle greater than 90°

not sharp or pointed

indistinctly felt, heard, etc; dullobtuse pain

(of a leaf or similar flat part) having a rounded or blunt tip

Derived Formsobtusely, adverbobtuseness, noun

Word Origin for obtuse

C16: from Latin obtūsus dulled, past participle of obtundere to beat down; see obtund

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for obtusely

obtuse

adj.

early 15c., "dull, blunted," from Middle French obtus (fem. obtuse), from Latin obtusus "blunted, dull," also used figuratively, past participle of obtundere "to beat against, make dull," from ob "against" (see ob-) + tundere "to beat," from PIE *(s)tud-e- "to beat, strike, push, thrust," from root *(s)teu- "to push, stick, knock, beat" (cf. Latin tudes "hammer," Sanskrit tudati "he thrusts"). Sense of "stupid" is first found c.1500. Related: Obtusely; obtuseness.

obtusely in Medicine

obtuse

[ŏb-tōōs′, əb-]

adj.

Lacking quickness of perception or intellect.

Not sharp or acute; blunt.