obtuse

[uhb-toos, -tyoos]

adjective

1. not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or intellect; not sensitive or observant; dull.

   Synonyms: dim, slow, boorish, gauche, unobservant, imperceptive, blind, insensitive, tactless, unfeeling

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.

obtuse

/ əbˈtjuːs /

adjective

1. mentally slow or emotionally insensitive

2. maths

   1. (of an angle) lying between 90° and 180°

   2. (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

Other Word Forms

• obtusely adverb
• obtuseness noun
• subobtuse adjective
• subobtusely adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of obtuse¹

First recorded in 1500–10; from 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of obtuse¹

C16: from Latin obtūsus dulled, past participle of obtundere to beat down; see _obtund

Example Sentences

I realize that my humor on “Red Eye” was deliberately obtuse in some ways, and not really deliberately.

From Los Angeles Times

"I think it would be a bit obtuse of me to speak about signings when clearly we have to improve and do better with what we have," he admitted.

From BBC

But Schaffer’s film has the uniquely difficult task of making Frank look like an idiot without making the police as a whole seem lovably obtuse.

From Salon

His last film was the willfully obtuse 2022 French Polynesian political thriller “Pacifiction,” which more often oozed colonial malaise through its painterly landscapes than any narrative.

From Los Angeles Times

But Gunn doesn’t do sincerity, so this Superman comes off as obtuse and overwhelmed — which, even for a Julliard-trained actor like Corenswet, is pretty impossible to pull off with any personality.

From Los Angeles Times