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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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
-
The other man died from what a police official described as blunt force injuries.—
Tim Stelloh,
NBC news,
30 May 2026
-
Greta Lee is officially back on team bangs, debuting a blunt new fringe on Thursday at the UK premiere of Toy Story 5 in London.—
Mykenna Maniece,
Vogue,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
Nate Bargatze is not a dumb guy.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2026
-
And what is dumber than a fart?—
Derek Lawrence,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 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
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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
-
And that was so arrogant and stupid on my part.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
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At some point, Brandon Aiyuk has to learn that stupid decisions come with consequences.—
Armando Salguero OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2026
Adjective
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Recovery of the bodies has been slow because of the chemicals and other hazards present at the site, Amos explained.—
Adam England,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
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One of the most painful things about this disease is knowing that promising treatments are emerging, but funding barriers and manufacturing and procedural slow-downs continue to derail progress.—
Elise Esposito,
Boston Herald,
29 May 2026
Adjective
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The actor, 39, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of simple battery in a Louisiana criminal court Wednesday, June 3, according to records obtained by USA TODAY.—
Liza Esquibias,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
-
At the time, the New Orleans Police Department confirmed its officers charged LaBeouf with two counts of simple battery for allegedly assaulting two men near a bar in the French Quarter.—
Alexandra Del Rosario,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
Adjective
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Unlike thick denim, these pants have a summer-friendly fabric, so your legs can breathe instead of developing pools of sweat.—
Rylee Johnston,
PEOPLE,
30 May 2026
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That’s because its light must travel through a thicker layer of atmosphere near the horizon.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2026
Adjective
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Set in a quiet residential neighborhood, this intimate beachfront property (whose name mixes the owners’ first initials with the Dutch word for oasis) uses dense, vibrant landscaping and shutters and stone walls between guest rooms to create a cocooning feeling of privacy.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
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The installation, Unheimlich Manöver, 2007, consists of the entire contents of Liden’s former three-hundred-square-foot apartment in Stockholm, organized into a dense rectilinear mass as if placed in storage.—
Erika Landström,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Obtuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obtuse. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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