How to pronounce obtuse
American English pronunciation
ub-TOOS
- IPA
- /əbˈtus/
- Syllables
- ub · TOOS (2 syllables, stress on the 2nd)
- Also said
- ob-TOOS
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What obtuse means
Most people know obtuse in its everyday sense. Here's its other meaning.
Slow to understand or notice things
In a sentence: He was so obtuse that he never guessed the party was for him.
Where it comes from: It comes from the Latin obtusus, blunt or dull, from a verb meaning to beat something until it is blunt. The angle meaning is the same word.
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