obtusely
- adverb
- /əbˈtjuːsli/
- Offensive
- But Marcher responds obtusely:
Examples
-
Despite the clear signs, she remained obtusely unaware of the tension in the room.
-
You need to cross-train it on the sorts of comments that get caught by it improperly in your own case, if so—more thoughtful than average, I’d say, on these pages, which is why moderating gets obtusely set off.
Blog text (10) -
The Germans were obtusely innocent of their amazing good fortune.
Academic text (1999) -
"What's there to be discreet about?" he said obtusely.
Fiction book (2000) -
You've pointed out, rather obtusely, that someone is offended.
Blog text (4) -
In it, Goddard obtusely referred to "infinite altitude" rather than extraterrestrial travel.
Academic text (2004) -
In an episode themed around finding truth, when one found them, they so obtusely and petulantly dismiss it?
Blog text (22) -
Like gusts of wind or the currents of the sea, they move, and move the person, but obtusely, without vision of an object or beliefs about it (p. 25).
Academic text (2014) -
You obviously have little experience, experiencing the developing world as it is rather than the one displayed on RT, Democracy Now, or similarly obtusely on MSNBC and Bloomberg.
Blog text (19) -
He answered all the questions obtusely, showing no understanding of the topic.
Synonyms
In a way that shows you do not know or understand something
In a way that shows someone does not understand what is happening
In a way that does not think about other people's feelings
Without thinking about other people's feelings
Without thinking and showing little care for others
In a silly way that shows little understanding
In a way that shows poor thinking or little care
In a foolish way without much thought
Antonyms
How Sharp
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Obtusely comes from the old Latin word obtusus, which means 'blunt' or 'dull', like a knife that is not sharp. So to act obtusely is to be 'not sharp' in thought — slow to understand or insensitive to what is obvious.