obtuse

obtuse Audio pronunciation

 
adjective | ahb-TOOSS
 
What It Means
 
Obtuse is a formal word that describes someone who is not able to think clearly or to understand what is obvious or simple. It can also suggest a refusal to see something apparent to others, or a willful ignorance of or insensitivity to the real facts of a situation. Obtuse can also describe something that is difficult to understand because it is unclear or imprecise.
 
// They were too obtuse to take a hint.
 
// The text is poorly written and downright obtuse.


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obtuse
adjective
ob·;tuse ;b-;t;s  ;b-, -;ty;s
obtuser; obtusest
Synonyms of obtuse
1
a
: not pointed or acute : blunt
b
(1)
of an angle : exceeding 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees
(2)
: having an obtuse angle
an obtuse triangle
 see triangle illustration
c
of a leaf : rounded at the free end
2
a
: lacking sharpness or quickness of sensibility or intellect : insensitive, stupid
He is too obtuse to take a hint.
b
: difficult to comprehend : not clear or precise in thought or expression
It is also, unfortunately, ill-written, and at times obtuse and often trivial.
—Shirley Hazzard
obtusely adverb
obtuseness noun


Did you know?
Obtuse vs. Abstruse

There’s a lot to understand about obtuse, so we’ll get straight to the point. Obtuse comes from a Latin word, obtusus, meaning “dull” or “blunt.” It can describe a geometric angle that is not acute (in other words one that exceeds 90 degrees but is less than 180 degrees), a leaf that is rounded at its free end, or a person who isn’t thinking clearly or who otherwise refuses to see something apparent to others—if someone asks you if you’re being obtuse about something, they are not paying you a compliment. Another common sense (no pun intended) of obtuse related to apprehension is “hard to comprehend,” often applied to speech or writing that isn’t clearly expressed or thought out. This sense may have developed due to the influence of two similar-sounding words: abstruse, a formal word that also means “hard to comprehend,” and obscure, a word that can mean, among other things, “not readily understood or clearly expressed.”

Synonyms
blunt
blunted
dull
dulled
Choose the Right Synonym for obtuse

dull, blunt, obtuse mean not sharp, keen, or acute.

dull suggests a lack or loss of keenness, zest, or pungency.

a dull pain
a dull mind
blunt suggests an inherent lack of sharpness or quickness of feeling or perception.

a person of blunt sensibility
obtuse implies such bluntness as makes one insensitive in perception or imagination.

too obtuse to take the hint
Examples of obtuse in a Sentence
Murdoch's art, like all good art, is highly structured and controlled—a house neat and clean enough to satisfy the most morally obtuse of her upper-class British characters.
—Martha C. Nussbaum, New Republic, 31 Dec. 2001 & 7 Jan. 2002
Only the most obtuse missed the main message: humans risked so distorting the natural order that they were sentencing themselves to be destroyed by frost or furnace.
—Joseph A. Amato, Dust, 2000
In fact, he was too obtuse even to realize that his assignment to Tejas was a demotion …
—James A. Michener, Texas, 1985
… either he, and the other people in his shop, and two people I subsequently ask are incapable of giving directions, or I am too rattled and obtuse to follow them, but I cannot find the police station.
—Renata Adler, Pitch Dark, 1983
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Acorns The world of investments and returns can be obtuse to a newcomer.
—Jordan McMahon, WIRED, 8 Nov. 2023
The world of investments and returns can be obtuse to a newcomer.
—Jordan McMahon, WIRED, 8 Nov. 2023
See the previous discussion of economists, and their horridly obtuse belief that war grows the economy.
—John Tamny, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
The dismissals were compelled by twin obtuse opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in the Department of Justice issued in 1973 and 2000.
—Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 4 Dec. 2024