# oblique

> English word · Adjective · IPA /əˈbliːk/ · frequency rank #22,453

## Definitions
1. Not erect or perpendicular; not parallel to, or at right angles from, the base.
2. Not straightforward; indirect; by implication; (sometimes even) obscure, ambiguous, or confusing.
3. Disingenuous; underhand; morally corrupt.
4. Not direct in descent; not following the line of father and son; collateral.
5. Having the base of the blade asymmetrical, with one side lower than the other.
6. Growing at an angle that is neither vertical nor horizontal.
7. Pertaining to the oblique case (non-nominative).
8. Indirect; employing the actual words of the speaker but as related by a third person, having the first person in pronoun and verb converted into the third person and adverbs of present time into the past, etc.
9. Employing oblique motion, motion or progression in which one part (voice) stays on the same note while another ascends or descends.

## Etymology
From Middle French oblique, from Latin oblīquus (also spelled oblīcus) (“slanting, sideways, indirect, envious”).

## Easily confused with
- **obliquely** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/oblique-vs-obliquely)
- **oblige** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/oblige-vs-oblique)

## Common misspellings (9)
`bolique`, `obblique`, `obilque`, `obliqeu`, `obliqque`, `obliuqe`, `obllique`, `oblqiue`, `olbique`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/oblique