obtuse Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective of an angle; between 90 and 180 degrees
  2. adjective satellite (of a leaf shape) rounded at the apex
  3. adjective satellite lacking in insight or discernment
    purblind.
    • 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"- Jasper Griffin
  4. adjective satellite slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity
    dim; slow; dense; dumb; dull.
    • so dense he never understands anything I say to him
    • never met anyone quite so dim
    • although dull at classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly quick"- Thackeray
    • dumb officials make some really dumb decisions
    • he was either normally stupid or being deliberately obtuse
    • worked with the slow students

WordNet

Ob*tuse" adjective
Etymology
L. obtusus, p.p. of obtundere to blunt: cf. F. obtus. See Obtund.
Wordforms
comparative Obtuser ; superlative Obtusest
Definitions
  1. Not pointed or acute; blunt; -- applied esp. to angles greater than a right angle, or containing more than ninety degrees.
  2. Not having acute sensibility or perceptions; dull; stupid; as, obtuse senses. Milton.
  3. Dull; deadened; as, obtuse sound. Johnson.

Webster 1913