obliquity
/əˈblɪkwɪti/
"obliquity" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“obliquity” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The quality of being oblique in direction, deviating from the horizontal or vertical; or the angle created by such a deviation.
Corpus desk
Index EN-obliquity · obliquity · English
obliquity · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "O" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | obliquity |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /əˈblɪkwɪti/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “obliquity” in English
Rare enough to double-check
obliquity is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /əˈblɪkwɪti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
obliquity has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French obliquité, from Latin oblīquitās, from oblīquus (“oblique”). Corresponding to oblique + -ity. The correct English form is obliquity, spelled O-B-L-I-Q-U-I-T-Y.
Definition
- 1The quality of being oblique in direction, deviating from the horizontal or vertical; or the angle created by such a deviation.
- 2Axial tilt.
- 3Mental or moral deviation or perversity; immorality.
- 4The quality of being obscure, oftentimes willfully, sometimes as an exercise in euphemism.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how obliquity appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The Planet Earth, so stedfast though she seem, / Insensibly three different Motions move? / Which else to several Sphears thou must ascribe, / Mov'd contrarie with thwart obliquities
Screwed at its axis against the side, a swinging lamp slightly oscillates in Jonah’s room; and the ship, heeling over towards the wharf with the weight of the last bales received, the lamp, flame and all, though in slight motion, still maintains a permanent obliquity with reference to the room; though, in truth, infallibly straight itself, it but made obv…
Etymology
From Middle French obliquité, from Latin oblīquitās, from oblīquus (“oblique”). Corresponding to oblique + -ity.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.