Obtuse — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

of an angle; between 90 and 180 degrees

(of a leaf shape) rounded at the apex

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/əbtˈuːs/

🇬🇧British English

/ɒbtjˈuːs/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ɒbtjˈuːs/

2 syllables Say it as /əbtˈuːs/.

Examples

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
so dense he never understands anything I say to him

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

dumb dull purblind dim slow dense

Antonyms

acute

Parts of Speech

adjective	of an angle; between 90 and 180 degrees
adjective	(of a leaf shape) rounded at the apex
adjective	lacking in insight or discernment; ; - Jasper Griffin “too obtuse to grasp the implications of his behavior”
adjective	slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity; ; ; - Thackeray “so dense he never understands anything I say to him”

Word Forms

obtuseness	noun	the quality of lacking a sharp edge or point
denseness	noun	the quality of being mentally slow and limited
dullness	noun	the quality of being slow to understand
dumbness	noun	the quality of being mentally slow and limited
slowness	noun	unskillfulness resulting from a lack of training

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

stumpf

eines Winkels; zwischen 90 und 180 Grad

🇫🇷French

obtus

d'un angle; entre 90 et 180 degrés

🇪🇸Spanish

obtuso

de un ángulo; entre 90 y 180 grados

🇮🇹Italian

ottuso

di un angolo; tra 90 e 180 gradi

🇳🇱Dutch

stomp

van een hoek; tussen 90 en 180 graden

🇵🇹Portuguese

obtuso

de um ângulo; entre 90 e 180 graus

🇷🇺Russian

тупой

угла; между 90 и 180 градусами

India

🇮🇳Hindi

कुंठित

एक कोण का; 90 और 180 डिग्री के बीच

🇧🇩Bengali

স্থূল

একটি কোণ; 90 এবং 180 ডিগ্রীর মধ্যে

🇮🇳Tamil

மழுங்கிய

ஒரு கோணத்தின்; 90 முதல் 180 டிகிரி வரை

🇮🇳Telugu

మొద్దుబారిన

కోణం యొక్క; 90 మరియు 180 డిగ్రీల మధ్య

🇮🇳Marathi

अंधुक

कोनाचे; 90 आणि 180 अंश दरम्यान

🇮🇳Gujarati

સ્થૂળ

એક ખૂણાનું; 90 અને 180 ડિગ્રી વચ્ચે

🇮🇳Kannada

ದಡ್ಡ

ಒಂದು ಕೋನದ; 90 ಮತ್ತು 180 ಡಿಗ್ರಿಗಳ ನಡುವೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

മങ്ങിയ

ഒരു കോണിൻ്റെ; 90 നും 180 നും ഇടയിൽ

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਗੁੰਝਲਦਾਰ

ਇੱਕ ਕੋਣ ਦਾ; 90 ਅਤੇ 180 ਡਿਗਰੀ ਦੇ ਵਿਚਕਾਰ

🇵🇰Urdu

اوباش

ایک زاویہ کی؛ 90 اور 180 ڈگری کے درمیان

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

钝

一个角度； 90 到 180 度之间

🇯🇵Japanese

鈍い

角度の; 90度から180度の間

🇰🇷Korean

무딘

각도; 90도에서 180도 사이

🇻🇳Vietnamese

u mê

của một góc; giữa 90 và 180 độ

🇹🇭Thai

ป้าน

ของมุม; ระหว่าง 90 ถึง 180 องศา

🇮🇩Indonesian

tumpul

dari suatu sudut; antara 90 dan 180 derajat

🇵🇭Filipino

mahina ang isip

ng isang anggulo; sa pagitan ng 90 at 180 degrees

🇲🇾Malay

bodoh

daripada sudut; antara 90 dan 180 darjah

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

منفرج الزاوية

من زاوية؛ بين 90 و 180 درجة

🇮🇷Persian

مبهم

یک زاویه؛ بین 90 تا 180 درجه

🇹🇷Turkish

geniş

bir açının; 90 ila 180 derece arasında

🇮🇱Hebrew

קֵהֶה

של זווית; בין 90 ל-180 מעלות

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'obtuse'?

The primary meaning of 'obtuse' is 'of an angle; between 90 and 180 degrees'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'obtuse' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'obtuse' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'obtuse' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'obtuse' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

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In your opinion, does the word 'obtuse' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

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