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 dumb
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of obtuse
And suggesting that Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed should be on a Ryder Cup team in 2025 is both willfully obtuse and indicative of a person looking back, not forward.
—
Hugh Kellenberger,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Looking to boost Hispanic voter engagement, in the spring of the election year, Obama ignored Congress and took a constitutionally obtuse executive action shielding immigrants who came to the United States illegally as minors from deportation.
—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
19 Aug. 2025
Nevala-Lee’s previous biography was on Buckminster Fuller, architect, futurist, longtime professor at Southern Illinois University, but also an infamously obtuse, inscrutable mansplainer’s mansplainer — his lectures seemed to go on for days.
—
Christopher Borrelli,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Aug. 2025
Instead, the show morphed into a thudding retread of SATC with weaker, more diluted storytelling/joke-telling and an obtuse obsession with flaunting its characters’ seemingly infinite riches.
—
Robyn Bahr,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for obtuse
Hugh Kellenberger,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Looking to boost Hispanic voter engagement, in the spring of the election year, Obama ignored Congress and took a constitutionally obtuse executive action shielding immigrants who came to the United States illegally as minors from deportation.
—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
19 Aug. 2025
Nevala-Lee’s previous biography was on Buckminster Fuller, architect, futurist, longtime professor at Southern Illinois University, but also an infamously obtuse, inscrutable mansplainer’s mansplainer — his lectures seemed to go on for days.
—
Christopher Borrelli,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Aug. 2025
Instead, the show morphed into a thudding retread of SATC with weaker, more diluted storytelling/joke-telling and an obtuse obsession with flaunting its characters’ seemingly infinite riches.
—
Robyn Bahr,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for obtuse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obtuse
Adjective
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At the scene, police found Creech with blunt force injuries, WBNS reported.
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The Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that her cause of death was blunt force trauma.
Adjective
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Not all blondes are dumb, don’t judge a book by its cover, yada yada yada, lo and behold, Reese Witherspoon is a certified movie star.
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Though Cady has made some gestures toward helping the Bowdens, like his behind-the-scenes effort to get one of Anna’s death-row clients exonerated last week, Tom and Anna should not be so dumb as to ignore his ulterior motives.
Adjective
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The results have been impressive enough from far away, but examined more closely as a blunted, external force, Big Brother has almost always been too literal in horror cinema.
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Orientation matters; garlic is planted vertically, with the root (blunted) end of the clove facing down, and the sprout (pointy) end facing up.
Adjective
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And no, that was NOT OutKick or FOX who wrote that stupid headline.
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The thing about House of the Dragon is that everything really is quite stupid.
Adjective
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There was no repeat of the slow start that cost him a spot last season.
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The house old-fashioned can be made with bourbon or gin and is a much slower sip.
Adjective
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As for the volunteers, the goal is simple—help someone stay safe before the heat turns into an emergency.
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Evidence for at-home tools is thinner than for professional manual drainage, but the simplest options can offer mild circulation and surface-lymph support at a low price.
Adjective
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The combination makes strands thicker, fuller, stronger, frizz-free, and softer—and thus, longer with less shedding and breakage.
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The brown, round cookie has arms and legs, one eyebrow thicker than the other, and one buck tooth.
Adjective
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Videos of the pyrotechnics display show the pitch filling with tall showers of sparks and dense smoke as dozens of fireworks launched upward.
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The rare Saturday night game at the iconic North Side ballpark started an hour late due to rain, then fog billowed in from the north starting in the second inning and got denser.
Cite this Entry
“Obtuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obtuse. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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