blunt 1 of 2

blunt

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word blunt distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of blunt are bluff, brusque, crusty, curt, and gruff. While all these words mean "abrupt and unceremonious in speech and manner," blunt suggests directness of expression in disregard of others' feelings.

a blunt appraisal

When would bluff be a good substitute for blunt?

The words bluff and blunt can be used in similar contexts, but bluff connotes good-natured outspokenness and unconventionality.

a bluff manner

When is brusque a more appropriate choice than blunt?

The words brusque and blunt are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, brusque applies to a sharpness or ungraciousness.

a brusque response

When might crusty be a better fit than blunt?

While the synonyms crusty and blunt are close in meaning, crusty suggests a harsh or surly manner sometimes concealing an inner kindliness.

a crusty exterior

Where would curt be a reasonable alternative to blunt?

The meanings of curt and blunt largely overlap; however, curt implies disconcerting shortness or rude conciseness.

a curt command

When can gruff be used instead of blunt?

Although the words gruff and blunt have much in common, gruff suggests a hoarse or husky speech which may imply bad temper but more often implies embarrassment or shyness.

puts on a gruff pose

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of blunt
Adjective
Meanwhile, June Ambrose blurred the lines between fashion and beauty, sporting a big black bow in her blunt cut ponytail as her most prominent accessory. Essence, 3 Nov. 2025 The Ada County Coroner’s Office said in April that Masson died of traumatic blunt force injuries, and the manner of death was listed as an accident. Idaho Statesman, 3 Nov. 2025
Verb
County officials are asking voters to approve a sales tax increase, Measure A, to blunt the fiscal impact. Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 21 Oct. 2025 Her election may also blunt the rise of Sanseito, a right-wing populist party that surged in July on an anti-immigration platform. Hanako Montgomery, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for blunt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blunt
Adjective
  • States, food banks and SNAP recipients have been bracing for an abrupt shift in how low-income people can get groceries.
    Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 31 Oct. 2025
  • The explosion of sports betting into the American sports industry was abrupt and jarring, and nobody is quite used to it yet.
    David Hill, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • None of that dulls the original game, nor its portrayal of Alma.
    Will Borger, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025
  • Warm kitchens speed up staling and fat oxidation, dulling flavors faster.
    Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Pierre was short, with a white beard and flamboyant wild hair.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
  • These bacteria ferment or break down prebiotics, releasing compounds called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).
    Jillian Kubala, Health, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Tax rises would likely act as another damper on inflation by reducing consumer demand.
    Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Researchers also stressed that the synergistic effect of K+ and C3N4 co-intercalation lowers the energy barrier, reduces the electrostatic interaction, and enhances the kinetics and structural stability.
    Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • But encounters with the island’s residents, including with his gruff but warm-hearted landlady (played by German screen legend Hanna Schygulla), gradually alter his outlook.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Panday plays a convincingly gruff tortured artist alongside Padda’s struggling ingenue, and most of the screen time is devoted to their pairing instead of introducing tertiary excess.
    Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 13 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Some doctors use numbing cream, a vibrating tool, or a dental block to help reduce in-the-moment pain.
    Kara Nesvig, Allure, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Although the brain itself has no pain receptors, Bacon was given local anesthetic to numb her scalp and skull, as doctors made holes half the size of a small coin in her skull and implanted the stimulating electrodes inside.
    Elmira Aliieva, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Less than a day later, a curt follow-up email landed in many of their inboxes informing them that they weren’t being let go after all.
    Tom Bartlett, The Atlantic, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Asked to assess his own performance afterward, Howard was curt.
    James Boyd, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Farrell, by contrast, plays a brusque, dim henchman named Alec, who’s there mostly to look tough and briefly talk about Star Wars.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Cumdumpster, by contrast, was brusque, peremptory, and stingy with his scores, as if I’d been put on earth to curate pornography for him.
    Daniel Kolitz, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Blunt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blunt. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.

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