obtuseness

noun

Definition of obtusenessnext
as in thickness
the quality or state of lacking intelligence or quickness of mind our guest's obtuseness was such that he failed to take even the broadest hint that it was time to leave

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for obtuseness
  1. thickness
  2. stupidness
  3. stupidity
  4. dumbness
  5. slowness
  6. dullness
  7. boneheadedness
  8. foolishness
Noun
  • How Long to Grill Salmon Cooking time depends much more on thickness than weight.
    — Lynn Andriani, Martha Stewart, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Three of the four main tendons (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and subscapularis tendons) had full-thickness tears.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026
Definition of thickness
Noun
  • In an email to Krebs, Valadon claimed that the repo’s commit logs show that GitHub’s default protections against committing secrets—protections designed to protect unwitting or unskilled developers against exactly this kind of stupidness—had been disabled by the repo’s administrator.
    — Lee Hutchinson, ArsTechnica, 19 May 2026
Definition of stupidness
Noun
  • The stupidity and greed of the status quo threatens to drive her insane.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 July 2026
  • His eventual dismissal in second-half stoppage time was an exercise in rash stupidity, crashing through Spain’s teenage center back Pau Cubarsi.
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 20 July 2026
Definition of stupidity
Noun
  • The first 10 minutes are an incredible swirl of paranoia, alcoholism, and sluggish dumbness when Gould just needs to feed his cat.
    — Eric Farwell, Entertainment Weekly, 12 June 2026
  • Unlike its sibling concepts of dumbness and idiocy, stupidity isn’t really a personality trait.
    — Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 11 Feb. 2026
Definition of dumbness
Noun
  • Organizations are encouraged to embed this 'slowness' into their processes, pre-determining when pauses are necessary and empowering teams to take them.
    — Alfonso Cahero, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
  • Symptoms include tremors, stiffness, difficulty balancing and slowness of movement.
    — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 27 July 2026
Definition of slowness
Noun
  • My Tennis View Queen had, unsurprisingly, views of the tennis facility, but with plenty of lush greenery to offset any dullness.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 July 2026
  • This serum is great for fading dark spots, boosting collagen production, and fighting visible signs of aging like fine lines and dullness.
    — Reece Andavolgyi, InStyle, 4 July 2026
Definition of dullness
Noun
  • The pressure brought forth both boneheadedness and brilliance.
    — The Athletic Staff, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
Definition of boneheadedness
Noun
  • Any larger Hollywood studio would have likely insisted on a grander finale, but The Death of Robin Hood, produced by A24, left me pondering the foolishness of my need for such a denouement.
    — David Sims, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026
  • The popular Instagram page @touronsofnationalparks is known for spotlighting the foolishness of people in national parks.
    — David Hookstead OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 June 2026
Definition of foolishness
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.

Browse Nearby Words

obtuse
obtuseness
obverse
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Obtuseness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obtuseness. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.

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