obtuse
Use Obtuse in a sentence
Origin:
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
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 forms
ob·tuse·ly, adverb
ob·tuse·ness, noun
sub·ob·tuse, adjective
sub·ob·tuse·ly, adverb
sub·ob·tuse·ness, noun
Synonyms
1. unfeeling, tactless, insensitive; blind, imperceptive, unobservant; gauche, boorish; slow, dim.
1. unfeeling, tactless, insensitive; blind, imperceptive, unobservant; gauche, boorish; slow, dim.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To obtuse
00:10
Obtuse
is an SAT word you need to know.
So is realm. Does it mean:
| a profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism, as from the caterpillar to the pupa and from the pupa to the adult butterfly. |
| the special province or field of something or someone: |
Collins
World English Dictionary
obtuse (əbˈtjuːs) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | mentally slow or emotionally insensitive |
| 2. | maths |
| a. (of an angle) lying between 90° and 180° | |
| b. (of a triangle) having one interior angle greater than 90° | |
| 3. | not sharp or pointed |
| 4. | indistinctly felt, heard, etc; dull: obtuse pain |
| 5. | (of a leaf or similar flat part) having a rounded or blunt tip |
| [C16: from Latin obtūsus dulled, past participle of obtundere to beat down; see | |
| ob'tusely | |
| —adv | |
| ob'tuseness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
obtuse
c.1500, from M.Fr. obtus (fem. obtuse), from L. obtusus "blunted, dull," pp. of obtundere "to beat against, make dull," from ob "against" + tundere "to beat," from PIE *(s)tud- "to beat, strike, push, thrust" (cf. L. tudes "hammer," Skt. tudati "he thrusts"). Sense of "stupid" is first found c.1500.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
obtuse ob·tuse (ŏb-t&oomacr;s', -ty&oomacr;s', əb-)
adj.
Lacking quickness of perception or intellect.
Not sharp or acute; blunt.
ob·tuse'ness n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Obtuse triangle: a triangle that has an obtuse angle.
It might even be the actual dominant life form on this planet, and we're simply too obtuse to be aware of it.
At that point where the course suddenly alters to the northward an obtuse angle is formed.
It doesn't matter whether the angle joining them is obtuse or acute.
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