Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

blunt

/blʌnt/ adjective

In Latin: obtusus, hebes, retusus Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about blunt at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Having a thick edge or point; not sharp.
Dull in understanding; slow of discernment; opposed to acute.
Abrupt in address; plain; unceremonious; wanting in the forms of civility; rough in manners or speech.
I was taken aback by the blunt admission that he had never liked my company.

noun

A fencer's practice foil with a soft tip.
A short needle with a strong point.
A marijuana cigar.

verb

To dull the edge or point of, by making it thicker; to make blunt.
To repress or weaken; to impair the force, keenness, or susceptibility, of
It blunted my appetite.

Origin

From Middle English blunt, blont, from Old English *blunt, probably of North Germanic origin, possibly related to Old Norse blunda (“to shut eyes, to doze”), related to blind (> Icelandic blunda, Swedish blunda, Danish blunde). Compare the Scandinavian-German munitons term blind (“non-live, dummy”), opposite of skarp (“live”, literally, “sharp”): Swedish and Danish blind patron (“dummy round”), Danish blindt skud, German blinder schuss (“dummy shot”), blinde granate (“dummy grenade”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word