o·blique
(ō-blēḱ, ə-blēḱ)
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin oblīquus.]
adjective
- Having a slanting or sloping direction, course, or position; inclined.
- Mathematics Designating geometric lines or planes that are neither parallel nor perpendicular.
- Botany Having sides of unequal length or form: an oblique leaf.
- Anatomy Situated in a slanting position; not transverse or longitudinal: oblique muscles or ligaments.
- Indirect or evasive: oblique political maneuvers.
- Devious, misleading, or dishonest: gave oblique answers to the questions.
- Not direct in descent; collateral.
- Grammar Designating any noun case except the nominative or the vocative.
noun
- An oblique thing, such as a line, direction, or muscle.
- Nautical The act of changing course by less than 90°.
adverb
- At an angle of 45°.
derivatives
- o·bliquély
- adverb
- o·bliquéness
- noun
