obliqueness
Not being straightforward
Obliqueness is the quality of being indirect or angled rather than straight.
A beam of light enters a room with obliqueness when it slants through a window.
More often the term describes indirect communication—speaking with obliqueness means hinting or implying rather than stating plainly: The obliqueness of her criticism made it hard to know what she actually objected to.
Disposition toward something
- slopeAngled terrain or steepness
- tiltAngular deviation from level
- gradientRate of change across space
- pitchFrequency of sound
bevel · slant · cant · rake · camber · skew · diagonal · declivity
Lack of straightforwardness
- evasivenessTendency to avoid directness
- circumlocutionIndirect, wordy expression
- prevaricationMisleading speech avoiding directness
- equivocationAmbiguous language avoiding commitment
hedging · sidestepping · avoidance · deflection · noncommittal · vagueness · ambiguity · fudging
Indirect reference to something
- innuendoOblique disparaging remark
- insinuationIndirect, usually negative suggestion
- implicationIndirect suggestion or consequence
- suggestionIdea proposed for consideration
hinting · intimation · understatement · subtext · connotation · inference · coded language · double meaning
Negotiation between nations
- discretionCareful judgment in speech
- tactfulnessSkill in sensitive situations
- finesseSubtle, deft handling
- delicacyRefined sensitivity or rarity
subtlety · circumspection · sensitivity · nuance · indirection · soft-pedaling · considerateness · politic
inclination
Disposition toward something
pitch · bevel · slant · cant · rake · camber · skew · diagonal · declivity · acclivity
indirectness
Lack of straightforwardness
- evasivenessTendency to avoid directness
- circumlocutionIndirect, wordy expression
- prevaricationMisleading speech avoiding directness
equivocation · hedging · sidestepping · avoidance · deflection · noncommittal · vagueness · ambiguity · fudging · weaseling
allusion
Indirect reference to something
- innuendoOblique disparaging remark
- insinuationIndirect, usually negative suggestion
- implicationIndirect suggestion or consequence
suggestion · hinting · intimation · understatement · subtext · connotation · inference · coded language · double meaning · reading between lines
diplomacy
Negotiation between nations
- discretionCareful judgment in speech
- tactfulnessSkill in sensitive situations
- finesseSubtle, deft handling
delicacy · subtlety · circumspection · sensitivity · nuance · indirection · soft-pedaling · considerateness · politic · careful wording
- indirectnesscircumlocution, euphemism, hedging, hint, hinting
- subtletysubtlety, understatement, understated, delicacy, hint
- complexitycomplex, complicated, simple, intricate, easy
obliquenessdirectness
Quality of being straightforward
forthrightness · straightforwardness · candor · bluntness · frankness
obliquenessclearness
Absence of obscurity
clarity · plainness · lucidity · perspicuity · perspicuousness
obliquenessperpendicularity
Ninety-degree intersection quality
straightness · verticality · horizontality · parallelism · rectangularity