neither perpendicular nor parallel to a given line or surface; slanting; sloping.
(of a solid) not having the axis perpendicular to the plane of the base.
diverging from a given straight line or course.
not straight or direct, as a course.
indirectly stated or expressed; not straightforward: oblique remarks about the candidate's honesty.
indirectly aimed at or reached, as ends or results; deviously achieved.
morally, ethically, or mentally wrong; underhand; perverse.
Typography. (of a letter) slanting toward the right, as a form of sans-serif, gothic, or square-serif type.
Rhetoric. indirect (applied to discourse in which the original words of a speaker or writer are assimilated to the language of the reporter).
Anatomy. pertaining to muscles running obliquely in the body as opposed to those running transversely or longitudinally.
Botany. having unequal sides, as a leaf.
Grammar. noting or pertaining to any case of noun inflection except nominative and vocative: Latin genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative cases are said to be oblique.
Drafting. designating a method of projection (oblique projection ) in which a three-dimensional object is represented by a drawing (oblique drawing ) in which the face, usually parallel to the picture plane, is represented in accurate or exact proportion, and all other faces are shown at any convenient angle other than 90°.Compare axonometric, cabinet (def. 19), isometric (def. 5).
adverb
Military. at an angle of 45°.
verb (used without object),o·bliqued,o·bliqu·ing.
Military. to change direction obliquely.
noun
something that is oblique.
Grammar. an oblique case.
Anatomy. any of several oblique muscles, especially in the walls of the abdomen.
Origin of oblique
1400–50; late Middle English oblike<Latin oblīquus slanting; see ob- (second element obscure)
Satellites can only peer down on smoke plumes from above or from oblique angles, and their payload is limited to lighter instruments.
Wildfire smoke travels far but never really disappears|Juliet Grable|October 7, 2020|Popular Science
That said, the season seven writers never quite figured out how to hit the oblique angles in their relationship the way Sherman-Palladino did — the insults inside the compliments, the declarations of love inside the insults.
Every episode of Gilmore Girls, ranked|Constance Grady|October 6, 2020|Vox
To do it, you create a sideways-facing C between your inside hip and shoulder by engaging your obliques, bringing your lower ribs toward your hip bones and rotating from the waist each time you initiate a downhill turn.
6 Easy Ways to Be a Better Skier|Heather Hansman|October 1, 2020|Outside Online
The definition of “innuendo,” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “an oblique allusion.”
Bill Cosby’s Long List of Accusers (So Far): 18 Alleged Sexual Assault Victims Between 1965-2004|Marlow Stern|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Playlist, on the other hand, called it “too oblique, too delighted with itself, and frankly, too dull to admire…much.”
Josh Charles on Life After ‘The Good Wife’ and His Insane Movie ‘Bird People’|Kevin Fallon|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
An oblique view of baseball full of hijinks, havoc, and humor, this is fandom to the extreme.
Home Runs, Frozen Ropes, And Some Wild Cards In Best Baseball Books|Robert Birnbaum|April 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The historical event, however, serves as an oblique background for the novel.
Yiyun Li Takes on Evil in “Kinder Than Solitude”|Jane Ciabattari|February 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The columns are frequently laced with oblique references to her family.
Pippa and The Middletons Face New 'Cashing-In' Allegations|Tom Sykes|December 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I have applied this term to the oblique descent made by the umbo, towards the basal extremity of the anterior side of bivalves.
The rain pours down without stay in oblique long lines, the light is quickly failing, the street is sad and very cheerless.
The Land of The Blessed Virgin; Sketches and Impressions in Andalusia|William Somerset Maugham
In every other spot the fire must necessarily be oblique, which would seriously militate against the success of the experiment.
From the Earth to the Moon, Direct in Ninety-Seven Hours and Twenty Minutes: and a Trip Round It|Jules Verne
It is only in a too literal spirit that one will find an oblique meaning,—by too great readiness to discover it.
Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies|Philip H. Goepp
These consist of four straight muscles, two oblique, and one retractor.
Special Report on Diseases of the Horse|United States Department of Agriculture
British Dictionary definitions for oblique
oblique
/ (əˈbliːk) /
adjective
at an angle; slanting; sloping
geometry
(of lines, planes, etc) neither perpendicular nor parallel to one another or to another line, plane, etc
not related to or containing a right angle
indirect or evasive
grammardenoting any case of nouns, pronouns, etc, other than the nominative and vocative
biologyhaving asymmetrical sides or planesan oblique leaf
(of a map projection) constituting a type of zenithal projection in which the plane of projection is tangential to the earth's surface at some point between the equator and the poles
noun
something oblique, esp a line
another name for solidus (def. 1)
nauticalthe act of changing course by less than 90°
an aerial photograph taken at an oblique angle
verb(intr)
to take or have an oblique direction
(of a military formation) to move forward at an angle
Derived forms of oblique
obliquely, adverbobliqueness, noun
Word Origin for oblique
C15: from Old French, from Latin oblīquus, of obscure origin