1
as in blunt
lacking sharpness of edge or point
obtuse scissors designed so that young users will not cut themselves
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stupid
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
forgive me for being obtuse, but I wish you'd explain that to me again
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in thickness
the quality or state of lacking intelligence or quickness of mind
our guest's obtuseness was such that he failed to take even the broadest hint that it was time to leave
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of obtuse
Stephania Taladrid, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025
The Monkey is a source of constant obtuse dialogue and characters that exist only for the cheapest comic relief.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 7 Feb. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for obtuse
Adjective
There would be no obtuse angles; the idea was to maintain a feeling of innocence, like that of a child opening a toy for the first time.
—Stephania Taladrid, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2025
The Monkey is a source of constant obtuse dialogue and characters that exist only for the cheapest comic relief.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 7 Feb. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for obtuse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obtuse
Adjective
-
Autopsy results revealed that Morin had endured 15 to 20 blows to the head and had died from a combination of strangulation and blunt force trauma.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
17 Apr. 2025
-
Not to be blunt, but there’s really no good excuse to skip SPF application, regardless of your skin tone or skin type.—
Catharine Malzahn,
Glamour,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Friendships built on insecurity, where men constantly have to prove their manhood, are a breeding ground for toxic attitudes and stupid decision-making.—
Terry Ward,
CNN Money,
13 Apr. 2025
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Also, his team told him over the radio, basically, don’t do anything stupid, Nato is going to be penalized for not using all his Attack Mode.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
12 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The iPhone 17 Air is rumored to measure around 5.5mm in thickness.—
Prakhar Khanna,
Forbes.com,
13 Apr. 2025
-
Quilted or padded cloth playmats range in thickness between 0.2 and 0.8 inches.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Ratajkowski has been fighting the stereotype of the dumb model from the beginning of her career.—
Daniel Jackson,
Allure,
18 July 2017
-
Ninety nine percent of all NFL players are explicitly not dumb.—
Andy Benoit,
The MMQB,
10 July 2017
Adjective
-
The building Celine now occupies what used to be a slow pop-up for Dior and Loro Piana.—
Tianwei Zhang,
Footwear News,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Of the slow, unsexy work of loving someone even in the worst times.—
Ruhama Wolle,
Glamour,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Trump himself personifies stupidity’s essential feature — self-satisfaction, an inability to recognize the flaws in your thinking.—
David Brooks,
Mercury News,
16 Apr. 2025
-
These deaths come on the heels of the equally bizarre and jarring death of Adult Lottie (Simone Kessell) which brings us to four adult survivors dead, though Adult Travis died offscreen (sparking a really fascinating mystery that ended in sheer stupidity and disappointment).—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The simplest way, Studholme suggests, is to use one group of neutrals or a tone on tone graduation of the same color, such as Pigeon, Blue Gray, Muzzle and Cromarty from Farrow & Ball, for example.—
Ariel Okin,
Vogue,
18 Apr. 2025
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Asked who’d buy these gold cards during an Oval Office meeting with reporters in February, Trump had a simple answer.—
Meehika Barua,
HubSpot,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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These Steve Madden platform sneakers feature thick, cushioned soles that provide extra height without sacrificing comfort.—
Jené Luciani Sena,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2025
-
The first is the pomodoro, a thick, fluffy pan-pizza smeared with sugo di pomodoro, a rich red sauce with a deep tomato flavor that tastes like it’s been reducing for hours.—
Jenn Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Obtuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obtuse. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.
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