1
as in blunt
lacking sharpness of edge or point
obtuse scissors designed so that young users will not cut themselves
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of obtuse
Hours are wasted sifting through open roles, tweaking cover letters, dealing with obtuse recruiters—and that’s all before you get started with potential interviews.
—
Matt Burgess, Wired News, 7 Aug. 2025
Turning it into a cheap conceit to blast a political opponent is both obtuse and shameful, and only serves to bolster those who would downplay the terrors of Hitler’s reign.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 15 June 2025
Alfie, who’s either being willfully obtuse or radically uncompromising, sees nothing sacrilegious in Wilde’s one-act tragedy.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 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
Matt Burgess, Wired News, 7 Aug. 2025
Turning it into a cheap conceit to blast a political opponent is both obtuse and shameful, and only serves to bolster those who would downplay the terrors of Hitler’s reign.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 15 June 2025
Alfie, who’s either being willfully obtuse or radically uncompromising, sees nothing sacrilegious in Wilde’s one-act tragedy.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 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
-
The right’s defense is equally blunt.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Hosts often want to hint that the evening is wrapping up without being blunt.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
As Legally Blonde's Elle Woods, Witherspoon charted a memorable path from dumb blonde to Harvard Law School graduate.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Nov. 2025
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Celebrities fight it out to be eliminated from the competition as quickly as possible to avoid being crowned the nation’s dumbest.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
What gave me the crazy idea to stand at the bar, listening to that woman being praised for her stupid f---ing commitment to New York City and her ugly f---ing buildings?—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
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Her mechanism for luring victims involves a stick, someone’s hair, her blood, and another person stupid enough to let her through their front door.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Hoover finished 319 yards on 34-of-50 passing, but his two turnovers were critical mistakes that led to TCU’s slow start in the first half.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Nov. 2025
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When visiting the exhibit, plan on taking your time to make the most of it, or what the American Federation of Arts calls slow looking.—
Susan B. Barnes,
Southern Living,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
According to Bruce Blair, a former Air Force launch officer and nuclear policy expert, between 1962 and the mid-1970s the most powerful digits on the globe were simple – eight zeros.—
Charlotte Reck,
CNN Money,
9 Nov. 2025
-
That something as simple as a COVID vaccine might improve survival in cancer patients receiving standard immunotherapy has taken oncologists by surprise — in a good way.—
Lisa Jarvis,
Twin Cities,
8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The thick artificial foliage is pre-lit with warm white LED bulbs spaced through the entire length of the 10-foot piece.—
Kate McGregor,
Architectural Digest,
5 Nov. 2025
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With more than 38,000 gallons of fuel on board the cargo flight bound for Hawaii, the crash created a massive ball of fire – punctuated by smaller explosions from flammable material on the ground – and sent a towering plume of thick black smoke into the sky.—
Karina Tsui,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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In extremely dense fog where visibility is near zero, the best course of action is to first turn on your hazard lights, then simply pull into a safe location such as a parking lot of a local business, and stop.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
11 Nov. 2025
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The chestnut—nutrient dense, hardy, quietly elegant—is a symbol with global resonance.—
Todd Plummer,
Vogue,
11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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In fact, the term itself was an epithet throughout the founding era, a way to describe ignorant and easily deceived popular majorities, perpetually vulnerable to demagogues.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
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International students are close to entirely ignorant of Canadian history and politics.—
Dónal Gill,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Obtuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obtuse. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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