obtuse

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 19, 2025 is: obtuse \ahb-TOOSS\ adjective Obtuse is a formal word that describes someone who is not able to think clearly or to understand what is obvious or simple. It can also suggest a refusal to see something apparent to others, or a willful ignorance of or insensitivity to the real facts of a situation. Obtuse can also describe something that is difficult to understand because it is unclear or imprecise. // They were too obtuse to take a hint. // The text is poorly written and downright obtuse. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obtuse) Examples: “Engineers love complicated problems, but we have a reputation for being obtuse about personal interactions. I often tell my fellow engineers, ‘You won't find any problems more complicated than those involving people.’” — Bill Austin, Inc.com, 15 Jan. 2025 Did you know? There’s a lot to understand about obtuse, so we’ll get straight to the point. Obtuse comes from a Latin word, obtusus, meaning “dull” or “blunt.” It can describe a geometric angle that is not [acute](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acute) (in other words one that exceeds 90 degrees but is less than 180 degrees), a leaf that is rounded at its free end, or a person who isn’t thinking clearly or who otherwise refuses to see something apparent to others—if someone asks you if you’re being obtuse about something, they are not paying you a compliment. Another common sense (no pun intended) of obtuse related to [apprehension](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apprehension) is “hard to comprehend,” often applied to speech or writing that isn’t clearly expressed or thought out. This sense may have developed due to the influence of two similar-sounding words: [abstruse]( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abstruse), a formal word that also means “hard to comprehend,” and [obscure](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obscure), a word that can mean, among other things, “not readily understood or clearly expressed.”