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obtuse - 6 dictionary results

ob⋅tuse

  [uhb-toos, -tyoos]
Use obtuse in a Sentence
–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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ob·tuse   (ŏb-tōōs', -tyōōs', əb-)   
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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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Language Translation for : obtuse
Spanish: obtuso,
German: stumpf,
Japanese: 鈍角の
More Translations »

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
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Main Entry: ob·tuse
Pronunciation: äb-'t(y)üs, &b-
Function: adjective
Inflected Forms: ob·tus·er; -est
1 : lacking sharpness or quickness of sensibility or intellect
2 : not pointed or acute <obtuse pain>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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obtuse ob·tuse (ŏb-t&oomacr;s', -ty&oomacr;s', əb-)
adj.

  1. Lacking quickness of perception or intellect.
  2. 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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