Blunt
adjective
Not sharp; having a rounded edge or point.
Be careful when you cut the vegetables with that blunt knife.
Often appears as...
- blunt instrument
- blunt knife
verb
To make less intense or effective.
The impact of the fall was blunted by the snow.
Often appears as...
- blunt the impact
- blunt the pain
adjective
Frank and straightforward; not trying to be polite or avoid upsetting someone.
He was blunt about his dislike for the plan.
Often appears as...
- be blunt
- blunt refusal
Usage tips
Disapproving
adjective
Referring to a particular type of wide, short cigar.
He prefers to smoke blunts than cigarettes.
Usage tips
Informal
adjective
Not sharp; having a rounded edge or point.
Be careful when you cut the vegetables with that blunt knife.
Often appears as...
- blunt instrument
- blunt knife
verb
To make less intense or effective.
The impact of the fall was blunted by the snow.
Often appears as...
- blunt the impact
- blunt the pain
adjective
Frank and straightforward; not trying to be polite or avoid upsetting someone.
He was blunt about his dislike for the plan.
Often appears as...
- be blunt
- blunt refusal
Usage tips
Disapproving
adjective
Referring to a particular type of wide, short cigar.
He prefers to smoke blunts than cigarettes.
Usage tips
Informal
Definition 1 of 4
Pro Tip 1/3Safety First
A blunt object is dull, so it might seem safer, but it can still be dangerous if used with force.
Even a blunt axe can cause injury if mishandled.
Pro Tip 2/3Cutting Difficulty
Using a blunt knife makes it harder to cut and may require more force, sometimes causing accidents.
It's hard to slice tomatoes with a blunt knife without squashing them.
Pro Tip 3/3Metaphorical Use
'Blunt' can describe someone's mental sharpness, implying they are slow to understand or perceive.
He's a bit blunt, so you may need to explain the joke to him.
Pro Tip 1/3Safety First
A blunt object is dull, so it might seem safer, but it can still be dangerous if used with force.
Even a blunt axe can cause injury if mishandled.
Pro Tip 2/3Cutting Difficulty
Using a blunt knife makes it harder to cut and may require more force, sometimes causing accidents.
It's hard to slice tomatoes with a blunt knife without squashing them.
Pro Tip 3/3Metaphorical Use
'Blunt' can describe someone's mental sharpness, implying they are slow to understand or perceive.
He's a bit blunt, so you may need to explain the joke to him.
Pro Tip 1/3Safety First
A blunt object is dull, so it might seem safer, but it can still be dangerous if used with force.
Even a blunt axe can cause injury if mishandled.
Pro Tip 2/3Cutting Difficulty
Using a blunt knife makes it harder to cut and may require more force, sometimes causing accidents.
It's hard to slice tomatoes with a blunt knife without squashing them.
Pro Tip 3/3Metaphorical Use
'Blunt' can describe someone's mental sharpness, implying they are slow to understand or perceive.
He's a bit blunt, so you may need to explain the joke to him.
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Video examples
Nirvana in the Nineties...
something it's really important no we're not gonna tolerate homophobia no more jock yes we're feminists you're very concerned about sexism how do you make people aware of that problem by writing songs as blunt as rape me he got called the voice of a generation a lot and that freaked him out yes he probably got off
Video examples
Your elusive creative...
and it's exceedingly likely that anything I write from this point forward is going to be judged by the world as the work that came after the freakish success of my last book right I should just put it bluntly cuz we're all sort of friends here now it's exceedingly likely that my greatest success is
Video examples
How My Mind Came Back to...
I lived in fear, and, to put it bluntly, was waiting for death to finally release me, expecting to die all alone in a care home. I don't know if it's truly possible to express in words what it's like not to be able to communicate. Your personality appears to vanish into a heavy fog
Video examples
How this disease changes...
to reduce the amount of sickling, blunting symptoms and increasing life expectancy. Bone marrow transplantations offer a curative measure, but these procedures are complicated and often inaccessible. But promising new medications are intervening in novel ways,
Video examples
Your elusive creative...
And it's exceedingly likely that anything I write from this point forward is going to be judged by the world as the work that came after the freakish success of my last book, right? I should just put it bluntly, because we're all sort of friends here now --
Video examples
Molly Stevens: A new way...
and also growing up in France, I tend to be very blunt, and so I had to explain to them very nicely that in their particular case, there probably wasn't that much in there to protect in the first place. So this was our approach, and it was simple materials,
Video examples
Andy Ruben: Making...
us and many more who can help produce it better with every iteration we move from this collection of these blunt energy draining processes to a more elegant industrial model the tomato sauce producers now that they've tasted this
Video examples
The power of women's...
If you defend yourself, if you put a stake in the ground, there can be dire consequences. Now we reproduce these patterns not in big, bold and blunt ways, but in the everyday banality of life.
Video examples
Nature's First Line of...
the loss of this water creates a space at the blunt end of the egg as the embryo develops so the air space increases and the oxygen it contains will help to
Video examples
Snowflake Science to...
FRANCESCA Most avalanche deaths are caused by suffocating under deep drifts or from the blunt force trauma inflicted by the onrush of snow.
Video examples
Nirvana in the Nineties...
something it's really important no we're not gonna tolerate homophobia no more jock yes we're feminists you're very concerned about sexism how do you make people aware of that problem by writing songs as blunt as rape me he got called the voice of a generation a lot and that freaked him out yes he probably got off
Video examples
Your elusive creative...
and it's exceedingly likely that anything I write from this point forward is going to be judged by the world as the work that came after the freakish success of my last book right I should just put it bluntly cuz we're all sort of friends here now it's exceedingly likely that my greatest success is
Video examples
How My Mind Came Back to...
I lived in fear, and, to put it bluntly, was waiting for death to finally release me, expecting to die all alone in a care home. I don't know if it's truly possible to express in words what it's like not to be able to communicate. Your personality appears to vanish into a heavy fog
Video examples
How this disease changes...
to reduce the amount of sickling, blunting symptoms and increasing life expectancy. Bone marrow transplantations offer a curative measure, but these procedures are complicated and often inaccessible. But promising new medications are intervening in novel ways,
Video examples
Your elusive creative...
And it's exceedingly likely that anything I write from this point forward is going to be judged by the world as the work that came after the freakish success of my last book, right? I should just put it bluntly, because we're all sort of friends here now --
Video examples
Molly Stevens: A new way...
and also growing up in France, I tend to be very blunt, and so I had to explain to them very nicely that in their particular case, there probably wasn't that much in there to protect in the first place. So this was our approach, and it was simple materials,
Video examples
Andy Ruben: Making...
us and many more who can help produce it better with every iteration we move from this collection of these blunt energy draining processes to a more elegant industrial model the tomato sauce producers now that they've tasted this
Video examples
The power of women's...
If you defend yourself, if you put a stake in the ground, there can be dire consequences. Now we reproduce these patterns not in big, bold and blunt ways, but in the everyday banality of life.
Video examples
Nature's First Line of...
the loss of this water creates a space at the blunt end of the egg as the embryo develops so the air space increases and the oxygen it contains will help to
Video examples
Snowflake Science to...
FRANCESCA Most avalanche deaths are caused by suffocating under deep drifts or from the blunt force trauma inflicted by the onrush of snow.
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
South African Activist
The years of imprisonment hardened me... Perhaps if you have been given a moment to hold back and wait for the next blow, your emotions wouldn't be blunted as they have been in my case. When it happens every day of your life, when that pain becomes a way of life... there is no longer anything I can fear.
Quote examples
Nicolas Berggruen
American Businessman
California has something which not every place in the world has: It has what I would call a sunny side, and I don't mean just physically, but the sunny side is a future. California's worth saving, to put it bluntly.
Quote examples
Sheryl Sandberg
American Businesswoman
Women are not making it to the top of any profession in the world. But when I say, 'The blunt truth is that men run the world,' people say, 'Really?' That, to me, is the problem.
Quote examples
Henry Rollins
American Musician
I have had a number of less-than-enviable moments in my life when dealing with other people. I won't attempt to blunt that by saying I am not the only one.
Quote examples
Pete Burns
English Musician
Over the years, I've had to learn how to deal with people who refuse to take me seriously. That's where I learnt the blunt side of my character.
Quote examples
Pierre Poilievre
Canadian Politician
Let me be blunt, employers do have to raise wages if they can't attract enough employees. That's the free market, that's how it works.
Quote examples
Susan Kelechi Watson
Jamaican Actress
That's always fun to play: the person who can be truthful and blunt, and people take it because that's who she is.
Quote examples
Rodney Frelinghuysen
American Politician
If people are shooting at you, it's human nature to be afraid. I was afraid. I'll be quite blunt about that.
Quote examples
Blaise Pascal
French Philosopher
Justice and truth are too such subtle points that our tools are too blunt to touch them accurately.
Quote examples
Walter Savage Landor
English Poet
Kindness in ourselves is the honey that blunts the sting of unkindness in another.
Quote examples
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
South African Activist
The years of imprisonment hardened me... Perhaps if you have been given a moment to hold back and wait for the next blow, your emotions wouldn't be blunted as they have been in my case. When it happens every day of your life, when that pain becomes a way of life... there is no longer anything I can fear.
Quote examples
Nicolas Berggruen
American Businessman
California has something which not every place in the world has: It has what I would call a sunny side, and I don't mean just physically, but the sunny side is a future. California's worth saving, to put it bluntly.
Quote examples
Sheryl Sandberg
American Businesswoman
Women are not making it to the top of any profession in the world. But when I say, 'The blunt truth is that men run the world,' people say, 'Really?' That, to me, is the problem.
Quote examples
Henry Rollins
American Musician
I have had a number of less-than-enviable moments in my life when dealing with other people. I won't attempt to blunt that by saying I am not the only one.
Quote examples
Pete Burns
English Musician
Over the years, I've had to learn how to deal with people who refuse to take me seriously. That's where I learnt the blunt side of my character.
Quote examples
Pierre Poilievre
Canadian Politician
Let me be blunt, employers do have to raise wages if they can't attract enough employees. That's the free market, that's how it works.
Quote examples
Susan Kelechi Watson
Jamaican Actress
That's always fun to play: the person who can be truthful and blunt, and people take it because that's who she is.
Quote examples
Rodney Frelinghuysen
American Politician
If people are shooting at you, it's human nature to be afraid. I was afraid. I'll be quite blunt about that.
Quote examples
Blaise Pascal
French Philosopher
Justice and truth are too such subtle points that our tools are too blunt to touch them accurately.
Quote examples
Walter Savage Landor
English Poet
Kindness in ourselves is the honey that blunts the sting of unkindness in another.
Example 1 of 10
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