Words / C2

uhb-TYOOS/əbˈtjuːs/

Obtuse means slow to understand, or wilfully insensitive: an obtuse remark, too obtuse to see it. Stupid is everyday and cruder; dense is the informal cousin. An obtuse angle is greater than 90° and less than 180° — the geometry sense. Acute is the opposite in both wit and angles. Do not call a required fire minute obtuse because it spoils the mood.

Meaning

Slow to understand or insensitive; also (of an angle) greater than 90°.

Examples

• “It is obtuse to treat a missing date as “tone”.”
• “Stupid is everyday. Dense is informal. Dim is unkind and thin. Acute is sharp (angle and mind). A person who has not opened the folder is uninformed, not obtuse. Refusing the n because it is awkward is obtuse in the moral sense. Geometry is the other door: say the angle if you mean the angle.”

Good to know

Slow-witted or insensitive; also a blunt angle. Everyday: slow / dense. Opposite flavour: acute. Mix-up: uninformed (has not looked). Tone ≠ a date.

Near in meaning

dense

New