Understanding the Meaning of Obtuse

The English language has many words that come with peculiar definitions and their usage can often be confusing. One such interesting word is ‘obtuse’ which can be used as an adjective or an adverb to refer to an angle, a person or a statement respectively.

What Does Obtuse Mean as a Geometric Term?

Most commonly, the term ‘obtuse’ is used in mathematics and geometry to refer to an angle. An obtuse angle is one that measures between 90 and 180 degrees and appears more than a right angle. In the measurement of angles, a 90° angle is known as a right angle and an angle which measures more than that but less than 180° is known as an obtuse angle.

What Does Obtuse Mean When Describing a Person or a Statement?

In addition to its usage as a geometric term, ‘obtuse’ can also be used to refer to a person or a statement with a similarly misguided understanding. A person or statement that is obtuse is one that is not very sensible or well thought out. It can be said that a person is obtuse if they lack the capacity to think something through sensibly and thoroughly before speaking or act on it. Similarly, a statement made by such an individual is referred to as an obtuse statement.

Well, there you have it – what does obtuse mean? It can be used as an adjective or adverb to refer to a particularly wide angle or a person or statement with a misguided understanding respectively. Whether the term is used to refer to something scientific or someone forgetful, being obtuse is rarely a good thing.