adjective

obtuse

ub-TOOS/əbˈtuːs/

Blunt rather than sharp or pointed.

The blue pencil has an obtuse tip beside the sharply pointed red one.

A blue pencil has a broad blunt tip beside a red pencil with a sharp point.

Etymology

Beating against something gives the image of blunting it. Physical dullness became a metaphor for mental dullness: an obtuse person lacks sharpness of understanding or perception.

In context

Libranima219:28

I have more of the obtuse than the acute in me; but repeat the case over again,

Don Quixote - Cervantes (Illustrated Audiobook) Part 4 of 4

More examples

Under magnification, the needle's worn tip looks obtuse.
The drawing shows a blade with an obtuse tip.
The flower's petals are obtuse at their outer ends.

Forms

obtuse · more obtuse · most obtuse

obtuseness noun — The quality of being blunt or rounded.

Similar words

blunt: Blunt is the everyday word for a tip lacking sharpness.
rounded: Rounded emphasizes a curved outline rather than a sharp point.
dull: Dull emphasizes an edge's inability to cut, rather than shape.