Definition of Obtuse

1. Adjective. Of an angle; between 90 and 180 degrees.

Antonyms: Acute

2. Adjective. (of a leaf shape) rounded at the apex.
Similar to: Simple, Unsubdivided
Derivative terms: Obtuseness

3. Adjective. Lacking in insight or discernment. "A purblind oligarchy that flatly refused to see that history was condemning it to the dustbin"
Exact synonyms: Purblind
Similar to: Undiscerning
Derivative terms: Obtuseness

4. Adjective. Slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity. "Worked with the slow students"
Exact synonyms: Dense, Dim, Dull, Dumb, Slow
Similar to: Stupid
Derivative terms: Denseness, Dullness, Dumbness, Obtuseness, Slowness, Slowness

Definition of Obtuse

1. a. Not pointed or acute; blunt; -- applied esp. to angles greater than a right angle, or containing more than ninety degrees.

Definition of Obtuse

1. Adjective. (context: now chiefly botany zoology) Blunt; not sharp. ¹

2. Adjective. Intellectually dull or dim-witted. ¹

3. Adjective. Indirect or circuitous. ¹

4. Adjective. Of sound: deadened or muffled. ¹

5. Adjective. (geometry) Of an angle: greater than 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees. ¹

6. Adjective. (geometry) Of a triangle: with one obtuse angle. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Obtuse

1. dull [adj -TUSER, -TUSEST] : OBTUSELY [adv] - See also: dull

Medical Definition of Obtuse

1. Blunt or rounded at the apex, the converging edges separated by an angle greater than 90 degrees. (09 Oct 1997)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Obtuse

obturator canal
obturator externus
obturator fascia
obturator hernia
obturator internus
obturator lymph nodes
obturator membrane
obturator nerve
obturator vein
obturators
obtusangular
obtuse (current term)
obtuse-angled
obtuse-angled triangle
obtuse angle
obtuse leaf
obtuse triangle
obtuse triangles
obtusely
obtusely umbonate
obtuseness
obtusenesses
obtuser
obtusest
obtusifoliol
obtusion

Literary usage of Obtuse

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture: A Discussion for the Amateur, and by Liberty Hyde Bailey (1917)
"Hostii BB. Margin of the lower hs. not reflexed, serrate. c. Fl.-sts. paniculate above. D. Cauline IPS. oblong, obtuse 72. altissima DO. ..."

2. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia by Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (1865)
"Hind angles of thorax slightly obtuse, not rounded ; (tibiae and tarsi ... Hind angles of thorax obtuse ; scarcely rounded at tip ; base punctured ; Thorax ..."

3. Plane and Spherical Trigonometry by Arthur Graham Hall, Fred Goodrich Frink (1910)
"Definitions of the trigonometric functions of obtuse angles. If an obtuse angle (ie an angle greater than 90° and less than 180°) is placed on the axes of ..."

4. Manual of Petrographic Methods by Albert Johannsen (1918)
"Sections Cut at Right Angles to the obtuse Bisectrix.2—When the axial angle is nearly 90°, the interference figure produced in a section cut at right angles ..."

5. Manual of Petrographic Methods by Albert Johannsen (1914)
"Sections Cut at Right Angles to the obtuse Bisectrix.2—When the axial angle is nearly 90°, the interference figure produced in a section cut at right angles ..."

6. The Apples of New York by Spencer Ambrose Beach, Nathaniel Ogden Booth, Orrin Morehouse Taylor (1905)
"Cavity obtuse to somewhat acute, moderately deep to deep, rather broad, somewhat furrowed, ... Seeds large, wide, long, obtuse, dark dull brown. ..."

7. Cyclopedia of American Horticulture: Comprising Suggestions for Cultivation by Liberty Hyde Bailey, Wilhelm Miller (1900)
"Lvs. obovate-ob- long, tapering into the petiole, retuse or obtuse at the apex : fls. small, about Hin. long, white tinged with red. ..."

8. The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review by Isaac Smith Homans, William B. Dana (1866)
"... either of obtuse or acute angles differing from a right angle ; the course will then represent two sides of an angle rapidly converging toward upex or ..."

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