obtuse definition |Dictionary.com

obtuse

6 dictionary results for: obtuse

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ob·tuse

[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.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ob·tuse (ŏb-tōōs', -tyōōs', əb-) Pronunciation Key
adj. ob·tus·er, ob·tus·est

1. Lacking quickness of perception or intellect.
2. Characterized by a lack of intelligence or sensitivity: an obtuse remark.
3. Not distinctly felt: an obtuse pain.
4. Not sharp, pointed, or acute in form; blunt.
5. Having an obtuse angle: an obtuse triangle.
6. Botany. Having a blunt or rounded tip: an obtuse leaf.
1. Not sharp, pointed, or acute in form; blunt.
2. Having an obtuse angle: an obtuse triangle.
3. Botany. Having a blunt or rounded tip: an obtuse leaf.

[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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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.

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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]