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adj. ob·tus·er, ob·tus·est 1. a. Lacking quickness of perception or intellect. b. Characterized by a lack of intelligence or sensitivity: an obtuse remark. c. Not distinctly felt: an obtuse pain. 2. a. Not sharp, pointed, or acute in form; blunt. b. Having an obtuse angle: an obtuse triangle. c. Botany Having a blunt or rounded tip: an obtuse leaf. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin obtūsus, past participle of obtundere, to blunt; see OBTUND.] ob·tusely adv. ob·tuseness n. Usage Note: Obtuse is sometimes used where one might expect abstruse instead, but the Usage Panel is divided on the acceptability of these usages. In our 2009 survey, 55 percent of the Usage Panel rejected obtuse meaning "recondite," as in The reader has to struggle through dense prose and obtuse references to modern philosophers. Some 52 percent rejected the word when used to mean "indirect or oblique" in the sentence Divorce is mentioned, and there are a few obtuse references to sex. By contrast, 56 percent accepted sentences in which obtuse was used to mean "hard to follow or understand" in the phrases obtuse instructions and obtuse explanation. Perhaps the use of the word as a sophisticated synonym of stupid makes these extended derogatory uses more tolerable than they otherwise might be. |
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