Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Not sharp; having a thick or rounded edge: Used to describe a knife, blade, or point that is not sharp.
   • Direct and straightforward in manner or speech; not trying to be polite or tactful: Characterized by frankness, often to the point of seeming rude or insensitive.
   • Less intense or strong; dulled: Used to describe sensations, emotions, or effects that are not sharp or acute.

2. Verb:

   • To make less sharp: To cause a blade or point to become dull.
   • To make less intense, strong, or effective: To weaken the force, vigor, or sensitivity of something.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:

  • The knife was too blunt to cut the tomato. (Describing a physical object)
  • She appreciated his blunt honesty, even though it was harsh. (Describing manner/speech)
  • He felt a blunt pain in his side after the fall. (Describing a sensation)

• Verb:

  • Using the knife on the ceramic plate will blunt the edge.
  • Time had blunted the sharpness of his grief.
  • The medication can blunt your appetite.

Advanced Usage

• "A blunt instrument": Literally, an object not sharp enough to cut or pierce easily. Figuratively, a crude, unsubtle, or heavy-handed method or tool.

  • The murder weapon was a blunt instrument, like a hammer.
  • His management style was a blunt instrument, causing low morale.

• "To be blunt (with you)": A phrase used to preface a very direct, often critical, statement.

  • To be blunt, your proposal is not feasible.

Variants and Related Words

• Bluntly (adverb): In a blunt, direct manner.
  • He stated his opinion bluntly.
• Bluntness (noun): The quality of being blunt.
  • Her bluntness was sometimes mistaken for rudeness.

Synonyms

• Adjective (not sharp): Dull, unsharpened, rounded.
• Adjective (direct): Frank, candid, forthright, straightforward, outspoken, plainspoken.
• Verb (to make less sharp): Dull.
• Verb (to weaken): Dampen, deaden, numb, weaken, lessen.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Blunt" is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. Its meanings are typically expressed directly.)

Related Idioms

• "Call a spade a spade": This idiom is synonymous with being blunt or very direct, speaking plainly without euphemism.
  • She always calls a spade a spade, which is why people trust her honesty.

Adjective

1. devoid of any qualifications or disguise or adornment
   • the blunt truth
   • the crude facts
   • facing the stark reality of the deadline
2. characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
   • blunt talking and straight shooting
   • a blunt New England farmer
   • I gave them my candid opinion
   • forthright criticism
   • a forthright approach to the problem
   • tell me what you think--and you may just as well be frank
   • it is possible to be outspoken without being rude
   • plainspoken and to the point
   • a point-blank accusation
3. used of a knife or other blade; not sharp
   • a blunt instrument
4. having a broad or rounded end
   • thick marks made by a blunt pencil

Verb

1. make less lively, intense, or vigorous; impair in vigor, force, activity, or sensation
   • Terror blunted her feelings
   • deaden a sound
2. make less sharp
   • blunt the knives
3. make dull or blunt
   • Too much cutting dulls the knife's edge
4. make numb or insensitive
   • The shock numbed her senses
5. make less intense
   • blunted emotions