obtuse
[uh b-toos, -tyoos]
- 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.
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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
Synonyms
See more synonyms for obtuse on Thesaurus.com1. unfeeling, tactless, insensitive; blind, imperceptive, unobservant; gauche, boorish; slow, dim.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for obtusely
Contemporary Examples
Japanese geishas and Arab sheiks are also obtusely name-checked.
Historical Examples
The caps were obtusely convex and of a grayish rufescent color.
The Mushroom, Edible and OtherwiseM. E. Hard
Seventh cervical: Spine as high as the arch, obtusely pointed.
The Beaked Whales of the Family ZiphidaeFrederick True
Occasionally the body-whorl is obtusely carinated just below the suture.
The Sea-beach at Ebb-tideAugusta Foote Arnold
"She isn't poor; she is very well off," says Mr. Kelly, obtusely.
RossmoyneUnknown
"I suppose we might go inside, too," suggested Sylvia obtusely.
A Hoosier ChronicleMeredith Nicholson
obtuse
- 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
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Word Origin
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
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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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
obtuse
(ŏb-tōōs′, əb-)- Lacking quickness of perception or intellect.
- Not sharp or acute; blunt.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.