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obtuse

ob·tuse/əbˈt(j)us/adjective

obtuse is spelled O-B-T-U-S-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (ob·tuse). It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,462nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, obtuse means “Blunt; not sharp, pointed, or acute in form” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in obtuse?

Letters6: O-B-T-U-S-E
Syllables2: ob·tuse
In writing1.1 times per million words; the 27,462nd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is obtuse?

Obtuse appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,462nd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce obtuse?

  • UK /əbˈtjuːs/
  • UK /-ˈtʃuːs/
  • US /əbˈt(j)us/

Obtuse has 2 syllables, split ob·tuse in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-obtuse.ogg, En-au-obtuse.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with obtuse?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as obtuse from its last stressed vowel (/us/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of obtuse

  • obtuser comparative
  • more obtuse comparative
  • obtusest superlative
  • most obtuse superlative
  • obtuses present, singular, he/she/it
  • obtusing participle, present
  • obtused participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does obtuse mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Blunt; not sharp, pointed, or acute in form.

  2. 2

    Blunt, or rounded at the extremity.

  3. 3

    Larger than one, and smaller than two right angles, equivalently more than 90° and less than 180°.

  4. 4

    Obtuse-angled, having an obtuse angle.

  5. 5

    Intellectually dull or dim-witted.

  6. 6

    Of sound, etc.: deadened, muffled, muted.

  7. 7

    Indirect or circuitous.

verb

  1. 1

    obsoleteTo dull or reduce an emotion or a physical state.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Obtuse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Portugueseembotado (not sharp, pointed, or acute in form), obtuso (botany, zoology: blunt), bronco, parvo (intellectually dull)
Germanstumpf (botany, zoology: blunt), begriffsstutzig, beschränkt, schwerfällig (intellectually dull)
Spanishobtuso, romo (botany, zoology: blunt)
Frenchobtus (geometry: larger than 90° but less than 180°), sourd (deadened, muffled, muted)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does obtuse come from?

From Middle English obtuse, from Latin obtūsus (“blunt, dull; obtuse”), past participle of obtundere, from obtundō (“to batter, beat, strike; to blunt, dull”), from ob- (“against”) (see ob-) + tundō (“to beat, strike; to bruise, crush, pound”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewd-, from *(s)tew- (“to hit; to push”)). More at obtund.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after obtuse