6 dictionary results for: obtuse
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
ob·tuse
[uh
b-toos, -tyoos] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[uh
b-toos, -tyoos] Pronunciation Key –adjective
| 1. | not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or intellect; not sensitive or observant; dull. |
| 2. | not sharp, acute, or pointed; blunt in form. |
| 3. | (of a leaf, petal, etc.) rounded at the extremity. |
| 4. | indistinctly felt or perceived, as pain or sound. |
[Origin: 1500–10; < L obtūsus dulled (ptp. of obtundere), equiv. to ob- ob- + tūd-, var. s. of tundere to beat + -tus ptp. suffix, with dt > s
]
] —Related forms
ob·tuse·ly, adverb
ob·tuse·ness, noun
—Synonyms 1. unfeeling, tactless, insensitive; blind, imperceptive, unobservant; gauche, boorish; slow, dim.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| ob·tuse
(ŏb-tōōs', -tyōōs', əb-) Pronunciation Key
adj. ob·tus·er, ob·tus·est
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin obtūsus, past participle of obtundere, to blunt; see obtund.] ob·tuse'ly adv., ob·tuse'ness n. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
obtuse
obtuse
1509, 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 1509. The verb obtund (trans.) "to render dead, make dull" has occasionally been used, esp. in medical jargon, since c.1400.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| obtuse | |
adjective | |
| 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 |
| 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] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ob·tuse'ness n.
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.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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