| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| blunt |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  bl nt |
| ADJECTIVE: | Inflected forms: blunt·er, blunt·est
1. Having a dull edge or end; not sharp. 2. Abrupt and often disconcertingly frank in speech: “Onscreen, John Wayne was a blunt talker and straight shooter” (Time). See synonyms at gruff. 3. Slow to understand or perceive; dull. 4. Lacking in feeling; insensitive. | | VERB: | Inflected forms: blunt·ed, blunt·ing, blunts
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 1. To dull the edge of. 2. To make less effective; weaken: blunting the criticism with a smile. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | To become blunt. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English. | | OTHER FORMS: | blunt ly —ADVERB
bluntness —NOUN
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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