different between obtuse vs insane

English

Etymology

From Middle French obtus (“obtuse (geometry); narrow-minded, obtuse; boring, dull, lifeless”), from Latin obt?sus (“blunt, dull; obtuse”), past participle of obtundere, from obtund? (“to batter, beat, strike; to blunt, dull”), from ob- (“prefix meaning against”) (see ob-) + tund? (“to beat, strike; to bruise, crush, pound”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewd-, from *(s)tew- (“to hit; to push”)). More at obtund.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?b?tju?s/, /-?t?u?s/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?b?t(j)us/, /?b-/
• Rhymes: -u?s
• Hyphenation: ob?tuse

Adjective

obtuse (comparative obtuser or more obtuse, superlative obtusest or most obtuse)

1. (now chiefly botany, zoology) Blunt; not sharp, pointed, or acute in form.
   1. (botany, zoology) Blunt, or rounded at the extremity.
   2. (geometry, specifically, of an angle) Larger than one, and smaller than two right angles, or more than 90° and less than 180°.
   3. (geometry, by ellipsis) Obtuse-angled, having an obtuse angle.
2. Intellectually dull or dim-witted.
   • 1848, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, Chapter 21:

     When the elder Osborne gave what he called "a hint," there was no possibility for the most obtuse to mistake his meaning. He called kicking a footman downstairs a hint to the latter to leave his service.
3. Of sound, etc.: deadened, muffled, muted.
4. Indirect or circuitous.

Synonyms

• (intellectually dull): dense, dim, dim-witted, thick (informal)
• (of a sound): deadened, muffled
• (of a triangle): obtuse-angled
• (now chiefly botany, zoology): blunt, dull

Antonyms

• (intellectually dull): bright, intelligent, on the ball, quick off the mark, quick-witted, sharp, smart
• (deadened, muffled, muted): clear, sharp
• (of an angle): acute
• (of a triangle): acute, acute-angled
• (now chiefly botany, zoology): pointed, sharp

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

obtuse (third-person singular simple present obtuses, present participle obtusing, simple past and past participle obtused)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To dull or reduce an emotion or a physical state.

Translations

Further reading

• obtuse (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• obtuse in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• obtuse in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• obtuse at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• buteos

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p.tyz/

Adjective

obtuse

1. feminine singular of obtus

Anagrams

• boutes

Latin

Adjective

obt?se

1. vocative masculine singular of obt?sus

References

• obtuse in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• obtuse in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

English

Etymology

From Latin ?ns?nus (“unsound in mind; mad, insane”), from in- + s?nus (“sound, sane”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?se?n/
• Rhymes: -e?n

Adjective

insane (comparative more insane or insaner, superlative most insane or insanest)

1. Exhibiting unsoundness or disorder of mind; not sane; mad

   Synonyms: delirious, distracted

   • What is the cause of insanity? Nobody can answer such a sweeping question as that, but we know that certain diseases, such as syphilis, break down and destroy the brain cells and result in insanity. In fact, about one-half of all mental diseases can be attributed to such physical causes as brain lesions, alcohol, toxins, and injuries. But the other half—and this is the appalling part of the story—the other half of the people who go insane apparently have nothing organically wrong with their brain cells. In post-mortem examinations, when their brain tissues are studied under the highest-powered microscopes, they are found to be apparently just as healthy as yours and mine. Why do these people go insane?

2. Used by, or appropriated to, insane persons

3. Causing insanity or madness.
4. Characterized by insanity or the utmost folly; ridiculous; impractical

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:insane

Antonyms

• sane

Derived terms

• insanely

Related terms

• insanity

Translations

Further reading

• insane in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• insane in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• insane at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Annies, Sannie, Sienna, inanes, nenias, sannie, sienna

French

Etymology

From English insane

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.san/

Adjective

insane (plural insanes)

1. crazy
2. foolish

Further reading

• “insane” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Italian

Adjective

insane f pl

1. feminine plural of insano

Latin

Adjective

?ns?ne

1. vocative masculine singular of ?ns?nus

References

• insane in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• insane in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• insane in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette