n. pl. o·bliq·ui·ties 1. a. The quality or condition of being oblique, especially in deviating from a vertical or horizontal line, plane, position, or direction.
b. The angle or extent of such a deviation.
2. a. Deviation from moral or proper conduct or thought: "Eleanor did not believe that early rising could possibly be compatible with moral obliquity" (Elizabeth Bowen).
b. An instance of this.
3. Indirection in conduct or verbal expression; lack of straightforwardness: "It may be that the candor of contemporary literature creates a nostalgia for indirection, obliquity and deferral" (Anatole Broyard).