Meaning & use
obtuse
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparabledisapproving
Slow to understand something that other people find clear, in a way that can seem annoying.
Grammar: Often placed after be: are you being obtuse?
Patterns
- obtuse about something
Are you being deliberately obtuse, or do you really not see it?
He was too obtuse to notice the hint.
Her obtuse reply made everyone sigh.
adjectivenot comparablemathematics
Describing an angle that measures more than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees.
Grammar: Used before a noun in geometry: an obtuse angle.
An obtuse angle looks wide and open.
The triangle has one obtuse angle.
Draw an obtuse angle of 120 degrees.
Word forms
| comparative | more obtuse |
|---|---|
| superlative | most obtuse |
Common combinations
- obtuse angle
- The shape has an obtuse angle at the corner.
- deliberately obtuse
- He was deliberately obtuse in the meeting.
- obtuse triangle
- An obtuse triangle has one wide angle.
- seem obtuse
- I don't mean to seem obtuse, but I'm lost.
- remarkably obtuse
- Her remarkably obtuse question surprised us.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dense
- Dense is informal and blunt, while obtuse sounds more formal.
- slow
- Slow is gentler and may only mean not quick, while obtuse suggests missing something obvious.
- thick
- Thick is a rude, informal British word, and obtuse is more polite.
- insensitive
- Insensitive concerns lacking feeling, whereas obtuse concerns lacking understanding.
Opposites
Word family
- obtusely adverb
- in a slow-to-understand way
- obtuseness noun
- slowness to understand
- acute adjective
- sharp, or an angle under 90 degrees
Commonly confused: obtuse or abstruse? obtuse or acute?
obtuse vs abstruse
Abstruse means hard to understand because it is complicated, while obtuse describes a person who is slow to understand.
obtuse vs acute
An acute angle is under 90 degrees, while an obtuse angle is over 90.
Practice
An angle of 130 degrees is called ____.
Choose one answer.
Obtuse angles measure between 90 and 180 degrees. Acute is less than 90, right is exactly 90, and reflex is more than 180.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “obtuse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.