obtuseness
Lack of sharpness
Obtuseness is the quality of being slow to understand or perceive—a kind of mental dullness or thickness.
It can describe genuine difficulty grasping concepts or a stubborn refusal to see what's obvious: His obtuseness about her feelings bordered on willful ignorance.
The word often carries impatience or frustration toward the person being described.
Inability to think quickly
- densenessCrowded or stupid quality
- dullnessLack of stimulation
- thick-headednessSlow to understand
- dimnessInsufficient illumination
incomprehension · simple-mindedness · dumbness · sluggishness · vacuity · unintelligence · stolidity · dopiness
Cruel emotional indifference
- unfeelingnessAbsence of emotional response
- imperceptivenessFailure to discern subtleties
- tactlessnessAbsence of social sensitivity
- boorishnessCrude, uncouth conduct
coarseness · crudeness · indelicacy · bluntness · crassness · inconsiderateness · unresponsiveness · hard-heartedness
Refusal to yield
- closed-mindednessRefusal to consider other views
- narrow-mindednessClosed thinking, limited perspective
- unreasonablenessLack of sound judgment
- mulishnessUnyielding resistance to persuasion
intransigence · resistance · blindness · imperviousness · inflexibility · refusal · denial · obliviousness
Frank, unvarnished manner
- widenessExtent across something
- broadnessExtent across something
- roundednessState of being curved
- opennessQuality of being accessible
slow-wittedness
Inability to think quickly
- densenessCrowded or stupid quality
- dullnessLack of stimulation
- thick-headednessSlow to understand
dimness · incomprehension · simple-mindedness · dumbness · sluggishness · vacuity · unintelligence · stolidity · dopiness · doltishness
callousness
Cruel emotional indifference
- unfeelingnessAbsence of emotional response
- imperceptivenessFailure to discern subtleties
- tactlessnessAbsence of social sensitivity
boorishness · coarseness · crudeness · indelicacy · bluntness · crassness · inconsiderateness · unresponsiveness · hard-heartedness · cold-heartedness
stubbornness
Refusal to yield
- closed-mindednessRefusal to consider other views
- narrow-mindednessClosed thinking, limited perspective
- unreasonablenessLack of sound judgment
mulishness · intransigence · resistance · blindness · imperviousness · inflexibility · refusal · denial · obliviousness · disregard
bluntness
Frank, unvarnished manner
- widenessExtent across something
- broadnessExtent across something
- roundednessState of being curved
openness · spread · divergence · expansion
- foolishnessfoolishness, silliness, foolish, stupid, folly
- mental flawsstupidity, ignorance, foolishness, dullness, narrow-mindedness
- inattentiondistracted, spacing, absent-minded, distraction, obliviousness
- insensitivitycallousness, cold-heartedness, hard-heartedness, heartlessness, inconsideration
- cluelessnessobliviousness, unawareness, ignorance, blankness, clueless
- numbnessnumbness, insensibility, tingling, pins and needles, deadness
obtusenesssharpness
Keenness of edge, mind, or image
acuteness · keenness · quickness · astuteness · quick-wittedness
obtusenessperceptiveness
Ability to notice subtleties
perspicacity · discernment · insight · perception · percipience
obtusenesssensitivity
Responsiveness to stimuli
tact · tactfulness · empathy · perceptiveness · emotional intelligence