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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of obtuse
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, Zannier preserved existing vegetation and engineered against erosion—environmental consciousness that makes neighboring resorts look positively obtuse by comparison.
—Paul Jebara, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 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
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, Zannier preserved existing vegetation and engineered against erosion—environmental consciousness that makes neighboring resorts look positively obtuse by comparison.
—Paul Jebara, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 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
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Related Stories His latest is a blunt cinematic instrument — loud, loaded and bursting with carnage and ideological angst.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
2 Oct. 2025
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In December 2024, Anderson revealed blunt bangs at a screening of her film The Last Showgirl in West Hollywood.—
Catherine Santino,
PEOPLE,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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So many of Black Rabbit’s subplots are confusing, boring, or dumb.—
Andrew Bernard,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Oct. 2025
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Luis Jauregui, a professor at UC Irvine, is an expert in quantum physics who is smart enough to describe his work in terms that are foreign to a non-scientist, yet affable enough to explain it anyway, without making any non-scientist feel dumb.—
Andre Mouchard,
Oc Register,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The name-calling and the stupid AI and the imagery has got to stop.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Sep. 2025
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These kids are being stupid and absurd and reckless and not thinking about anything other than what’s directly in front of their faces.—
Will Leitch,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The episodes feel choppy, hardly letting anything land, yet still feeling slow.—
Grace Byron,
Vulture,
6 Oct. 2025
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The crowd, quietening into a slow clap with the moment building, burst into a celebration.—
Mitch Bannon,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Jared Jewelers Bulova Phantom Watch A watch is both practical and fashionable, and this style adds a touch of sparkle to simple outfits.—
Jacqueline Tempera,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
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Each year, as the temperature rises, the town’s regular population of around 300 swells with thousands of kids soaking up the simple pleasures of the great outdoors.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Some models suggest that K2-18b is a hycean world — an ocean planet with a thick atmosphere of hydrogen — and the signature of dimethyl sulfide was detected by the James Webb Space Telescope.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
1 Oct. 2025
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Its fabric is thick but not too heavy, according to reviewers, which is great for someone like me whose body temperature fluctuates constantly.—
Melody Kazel,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Other valuable fruiting plants include elderberry, spicebush (), and native roses, which produce nutrient-dense hips in fall.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
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Since September 2024, a new federal law requires mammogram reports to state whether breast tissue is dense, and to mention the possibility of additional imaging.—
Dr. Megha Gupta,
ABC News,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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So what will our ignorant commissioner do with the information?—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
28 Sep. 2025
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But criticism quickly began to pile in on Chinese social media, where users denounced the advertising stunt as ignorant of the potential environmental impacts in a remote and pristine ecosystem.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Obtuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obtuse. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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