oblique

adjective

\ ō-ˈblēk

, ə-, -ˈblīk; military usually -ˈblīk

Definition of oblique

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : neither perpendicular nor parallel : inclined oblique lines

b : having the axis not perpendicular to the base an oblique cone

c : having no right angle an oblique triangle

2a : not straightforward : indirect In her speech she made only oblique references to the scandal. also : obscure … much of what there is to see is nuanced and oblique — a shadow of a shadow of a shadow. — New Yorker

b : devious, underhanded … the open, above-board fury of his mind coagulated, thickened, and sunk to a dull, evil hatred, a wicked, oblique malevolence.— Frank Norris

3 : situated at an angle and having one end not inserted on bone oblique muscles

4 : taken from an airplane with the camera directed horizontally or diagonally downward an oblique photograph

oblique

noun

\ ō-ˈblēk

, ə-, -ˈblīk; military usually -ˈblīk\

Definition of oblique (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : something (such as a line) that is oblique

2 or oblique muscle : any of several oblique muscles especially : any of the thin flat muscles forming the middle and outer layers of the lateral walls of the abdomen

oblique

adverb

\ ō-ˈblēk

, ə-, -ˈblīk; military usually -ˈblīk\

Definition of oblique (Entry 3 of 3)

: at a 45 degree angle To the right oblique, march!

Other Words from oblique Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about oblique

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Examples of oblique in a Sentence

Adjective

Harden … , who missed a month with a strained left oblique muscle, has become one of the game's most intimidating starters in just his second full big league season. — Albert Chen, Sports Illustrated, 8 Aug. 2005 They were painted in oil paints on old-fashioned canvas. But the manner of their portrayal was oblique and enigmatic, with an element of hide-and-seek in which hiding most often won out over seeking. — John Russell, New York Times Magazine, 11 Nov. 1990 The driveway met the street at an oblique angle, and a jutting corner of the customer's cinderblock building, a large power pole, and a berm of trash (pallets, pails, chunks of wood) made it a dogleg affair. — Bryan Di Salvatore, New Yorker, 12 Sept. 1988 The short lines of the letter “k” are oblique lines. gave the eavesdropper an oblique glance out of the corner of her eye

Noun

We each received a list of every muscle group (back, inner thighs, outer thighs, quads, biceps, obliques, upper abs, etc.), with detailed comments on which ones we needed to change. — anonymous, Cosmopolitan, November 2007 He hammered on my back with both fists, but I had a lot of muscle layer to protect back there. Twenty years of working on the lats and the lateral obliques. I got hold of his shirtfront with both hands and pulled him away from the wall and slammed him back up against it. — Robert B. Parker, Mortal Stakes, 1975

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Injury updates Lovullo said Robbie Ray (oblique) will throw a 35-to-40 pitch bullpen session Monday. — Scott Bordow, azcentral, "Chase Field springs a leak during Friday's Diamondbacks-Marlins game," 2 June 2018 More injury woes: Already without Christian Yelich (oblique) and Manny Piña (calf) for the series, the Brewers played the finale with only a pinch-hitting appearance from Braun and lost Eric Thames in the third inning. — Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Mets 3, Brewers 2: Wilmer Flores' walk-off homer wins it," 15 Apr. 2018 The oblique muscles run along the sides of your torso, and there are two sets: internal and external. — Amy Marturana, SELF, "31 of the Best Core Exercises You Can Do at Home," 2 Feb. 2019 Yelich hasn't played since April 4 with his oblique issue and landed on the DL on Sunday. — Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Brewers getting healthier as they open series with Mets," 13 Apr. 2018 Of course, no team can sustain an 11-1 pace for very long, and the Mets’ pitching staff would be deeper with Jason Vargas (broken nonpitching hand) and Anthony Swarzak (strained left oblique). — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, "Injuries Start to Creep Into the Mets’ Feel-Good Story," 13 Apr. 2018 After a strong 2017 season, Swarzak struggled in 2018, posting an 0-2 record with a 6.15 ERA while dealing with an oblique strain. — Ryan Divish, The Seattle Times, "What’s next for the Mariners’ step back? Or is it, who’s next?," 5 Dec. 2018 The Swedish-Iranian director, Ali Abbasi, has more than a casual interest in how Sweden regards its Others; it’s no stretch to see his film as an oblique comment on Europe’s immigration crisis. — Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, "Reviews: A ‘Border’ to Cross, a ‘Suspiria’ to Shun," 25 Oct. 2018 Bonus points are available to anyone who can pull this off exclusively through the use of oblique innuendo, without naming names. — Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "Ariana Grande’s greatest asset isn’t her amazing voice. It’s her resilience.," 11 Nov. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

From there, the forward lunge engages your quads, core, and glutes, and the stationary lunge with the weighted element engages your obliques (the muscles on the sides of your stomach), Zadeh says. — Jenny Mccoy, SELF, "Hailey Bieber Strengthens Her Core and Lower Half With This One 4-Part Exercise," 4 Jan. 2019 Because the obliques come into play to some extent in almost everything a person does, even breathing, injuries tend to linger. — Dave Kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "What's an oblique? Explaining the pesky strain that's keeping baseball players down," 23 Apr. 2018 Kennedy on the shelf: Right-hander Ian Kennedy, who was scheduled to start Wednesday's series finale against Cleveland, was placed on the 10-day disabled list because of a strained left oblique. — Pete Grathoff, kansascity, "Danny Duffy serves up slam as Royals fall to Indians, lose 60th game of season," 3 July 2018 The job of the external obliques here is to hold your lower spine in place. — Jenny Mccoy, SELF, "Strengthen Your Core and Shoulders With Adriana Lima's Challenging Battle Rope Plank," 13 June 2018 In addition to sculpting your butt, this move challenges your obliques and transverse abdominis, aka your waist-cinching muscles. — NBC News, "5 simple exercises for stronger, tighter glutes," 2 May 2018 After a lot of healing, I was left with a three-finger diastasis recti and healing separations along my obliques. — Melissa Dahl, The Cut, "100 Women on the Wildest Ways Their Bodies Changed After Pregnancy," 30 May 2018 In addition to the triceps work, the list of muscles working here includes rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis and internal and external obliques. — Leah Prinzivalli, SELF, "This Triceps Move From Chelsea Handler's Trainer Doubles as a Killer Core Exercise," 2 May 2018 This move targets your quads, glutes, obliques and arms at once. — NBC News, "Got 30 minutes? Try these 5 total-body compound exercises," 4 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'oblique.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for oblique

Adjective

Middle English oblique, oblike, borrowed from Anglo-French oblic, oblique, borrowed from Latin oblīquus "slanting, transverse," from ob- "against, facing" + -līquus, of uncertain meaning and origin — more at ob-

Noun

derivative of oblique entry 1

Adverb

derivative of oblique entry 1

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Dictionary Entries near oblique

Statistics for oblique

Last Updated

14 Mar 2019

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Time Traveler for oblique

The first known use of oblique was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for oblique

oblique

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of oblique

: not direct : not stated directly

of a line : having a slanting direction or position : neither perpendicular nor parallel

See the full definition for oblique in the English Language Learners Dictionary

oblique

adjective

\ ō-ˈblēk

, ə-\

Kids Definition of oblique

: having a slanting position or direction : neither perpendicular nor parallel

oblique

adjective

\ ō-ˈblēk

, ə-

, -ˈblīk\

Medical Definition of oblique

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : neither perpendicular nor parallel : being on an incline

2 : situated obliquely and having one end not inserted on bone oblique muscles

oblique

noun

variants: or oblique muscle

Medical Definition of oblique (Entry 2 of 2)

: any of several oblique muscles: as

a : either of two flat muscles on each side that form the middle and outer layers of the lateral walls of the abdomen, that have aponeuroses extending medially to ensheathe the rectus muscles and fusing in the midventral line in the linea alba, and that act to compress the abdominal contents and to assist in expelling the contents of various visceral organs (as in urination, defecation, parturition, and expiration):

(1) : one that forms the outer layer of the lateral abdominal wall

— called also external oblique, obliquus externus, obliquus externus abdominis

(2) : one situated under the external oblique in the lateral and ventral part of the abdominal wall

— called also internal oblique, obliquus internus, obliquus internus abdominis

b(1) : a long thin extraocular muscle that arises just above the margin of the optic foramen, is inserted on the upper part of the eyeball, and moves the eye downward and laterally

— called also superior oblique, obliquus superior oculi

(2) : a short extraocular muscle that arises from the orbital surface of the maxilla, is inserted slightly in front of and below the superior oblique, and moves the eye upward and laterally

— called also inferior oblique, obliquus inferior oculi

c(1) : a muscle that arises from the superior surface of the transverse process of the atlas, passes medially upward to insert into the occipital bone, and functions to extend the head and bend it to the side

— called also obliquus capitis superior, obliquus superior

(2) : a muscle that arises from the apex of the spinous process of the axis, inserts into the transverse process of the atlas, and rotates the atlas turning the face in the same direction

— called also obliquus capitis inferior, obliquus inferior