obtuse
adjective
Simple meaning
Larger than one, and smaller than two right angles, or more than 90° and less than 180°.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ahbtoosSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɑbˈtus
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
geometryspecificallyof an angle
Larger than one, and smaller than two right angles, or more than 90° and less than 180°.
Intellectually dull or dim-witted.
botanyzoology
Blunt, or rounded at the extremity.
Of sound, etc.: deadened, muffled, muted.
Indirect or circuitous.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Blunt, or rounded at the extremity.
Used this way, obtuse is a reasonably familiar word that can pull warm or cold depending on the sentence. It comes across as direct, sometimes bluntly so.
- Emotional tone
- Mixed
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Direct, sometimes tactless
- Usage feel
- Blunt and forceful
Usage note
The same wording can read approvingly or critically, so the surrounding sentence has to make the intent clear.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A triangle that contains an obtuse interior angle.
A triangle that contains an obtuse interior angle.
A simple leaf having a rounded or blunt tip.
An angle between 90 and 180 degrees.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.