1
as in blunt
lacking sharpness of edge or point
obtuse scissors designed so that young users will not cut themselves
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
forgive me for being obtuse, but I wish you'd explain that to me again
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of obtuse
And suggesting that Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed should be on a Ryder Cup team in 2025 is both willfully obtuse and indicative of a person looking back, not forward.
—
Hugh Kellenberger, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Looking to boost Hispanic voter engagement, in the spring of the election year, Obama ignored Congress and took a constitutionally obtuse executive action shielding immigrants who came to the United States illegally as minors from deportation.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 19 Aug. 2025
Nevala-Lee’s previous biography was on Buckminster Fuller, architect, futurist, longtime professor at Southern Illinois University, but also an infamously obtuse, inscrutable mansplainer’s mansplainer — his lectures seemed to go on for days.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
Instead, the show morphed into a thudding retread of SATC with weaker, more diluted storytelling/joke-telling and an obtuse obsession with flaunting its characters’ seemingly infinite riches.
—Robyn Bahr, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for obtuse
Hugh Kellenberger, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Looking to boost Hispanic voter engagement, in the spring of the election year, Obama ignored Congress and took a constitutionally obtuse executive action shielding immigrants who came to the United States illegally as minors from deportation.
—Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 19 Aug. 2025
Nevala-Lee’s previous biography was on Buckminster Fuller, architect, futurist, longtime professor at Southern Illinois University, but also an infamously obtuse, inscrutable mansplainer’s mansplainer — his lectures seemed to go on for days.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
Instead, the show morphed into a thudding retread of SATC with weaker, more diluted storytelling/joke-telling and an obtuse obsession with flaunting its characters’ seemingly infinite riches.
—Robyn Bahr, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for obtuse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obtuse
Adjective
-
Readers who prefer blunt, personal storytelling over polished self-help formulas won’t.—
Brandon Kochkodin,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
-
Her blunt, eventual tough-love assessment of Raúl’s block is game-changing.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
19 May 2026
Adjective
-
Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it.—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
22 May 2026
-
Pete Crow-Armstrong is young, but not dumb.—
Jon Greenberg,
New York Times,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
The results have been impressive enough from far away, but examined more closely as a blunted, external force, Big Brother has almost always been too literal in horror cinema.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
4 May 2026
-
Orientation matters; garlic is planted vertically, with the root (blunted) end of the clove facing down, and the sprout (pointy) end facing up.—
Samantha Johnson,
Martha Stewart,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Directed by Nicolas Athane and Marco Nguyen, Jim Queen is a crass, profane, giddily stupid romp through a heap of stereotypes about gay life in Paris.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
-
For the record, those students are not stupid.—
Hope Loudon,
The Orlando Sentinel,
17 May 2026
Adjective
-
Scratching high on the bridge, Werner’s splintering fiddle calls to mind the slow, magical hatching of an egg.—
Lily Goldberg,
Pitchfork,
22 May 2026
-
The better play is slower and pays back forever.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
While the simple Deluxe Room is ideal for a quick overnight trip, guests looking for a longer stay should spread out in the Junior Suite with Living & Dining Area, which opens onto a semi-private stone patio with a bocce court and a firepit in the warmer months.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 May 2026
-
Huxley might easily have written a simpler novel glorifying intellectuals while mocking Stoyte’s greed and indifference to suffering.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 May 2026
Adjective
-
Highlights include the raw sampler—mussels blanketed in a thick puree of herbs, scallop crudo bathed in homemade almond milk—and a bouillabaisse accompanied by insanely crunchy cheesy bread for sopping.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 May 2026
-
Methane combustion produces mainly carbon dioxide and water vapor rather than thick soot and toxic chemicals.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2026
Adjective
-
Plants form a dense tuft of stiff grass-like foliage.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
19 May 2026
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Along the way, the grade grows dramatically, temperatures drop, and the views and climate zones shift from dense forest to alpine tundra.—
Travel + Leisure Editors,
Travel + Leisure,
19 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Obtuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obtuse. Accessed 25 May. 2026.
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