obtuse

 
Pronunciation: /əbˈtjuːs/

adjective

  • 1annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand: he wondered if the doctor was being deliberately obtuse
  • difficult to understand, especially deliberately so: some of the lyrics are a bit obtuse
  • 2(of an angle) more than 90° and less than 180°: an obtuse angle of 150°
  • 3not sharp-pointed or sharp-edged; blunt: it had strange obtuse teeth

Derivatives

obtusely

adverb

obtuseness

noun

obtusity

noun

Origin:

late Middle English (in obtuse (sense 3)): from Latin obtusus, past participle of obtundere 'beat against' (see obtund)