Etymology From Middle English blunt, blont, from Old English *blunt, probably of North Germanic origin, possibly related to Old Norse blunda (“to doze”) (> Icelandic blunda, Swedish blunda, Danish blunde).
1
Having a thick edge or point; not sharp.
The murderous knife was dull and blunt.c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]:
The dinghy was trailing astern at the end of its painter, and Merrion looked at it as he passed. He saw that it was a battered-looking affair of the prahm type, with a blunt snout, and like the parent ship, had recently been painted a vivid green.1944, Miles Burton, The Three Corpse Trick, chapter 5:
1 more example
The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue. […].1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 17, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
2
Dull in understanding; slow of discernment; opposed to acute.
His wits are not so blunt.1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v]:
3
Abrupt in address; plain; unceremonious; wanting in the forms of civility; rough in manners or speech.
I was taken aback by the blunt admission that he had never liked my company.
a plain, blunt man1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
4
Hard to impress or penetrate.
December 30, 1736, Alexander Pope, letter to Jonathan Swift I find my heart hardened and blunt to new impressions.
Etymology From Middle English blunt, blont, from Old English *blunt, probably of North Germanic origin, possibly related to Old Norse blunda (“to doze”) (> Icelandic blunda, Swedish blunda, Danish blunde).
[…] to make his point, lead rapper B-Real fired up a blunt in front of the cameras and several hundred thousand people and announced, “I'm taking a hit for every one of y'all!”2004, Martin Torgoff, “The Temple of Accumulated Error”, in Can’t Find My Way Home: America in the Great Stoned Age, 1945–2000, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 461:
Down he goes to the Commons, to see the lawyer and draw the blunt[…]1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, chapter 10, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:
5
A playboating move resembling a cartwheel performed on a wave.
blunt
verb
Etymology From Middle English blunten, blonten, from the adjective (see above).
1
To dull the edge or point of, by making it thicker; to make blunt.
2
Figuratively To repress or weaken; to impair the force, keenness, or susceptibility, of
It blunted my appetite.
My feeling towards her have been blunted.
2 more examples
That settled the Merseysiders for a short while but it did not blunt the home side's spirit.2011 January 12, Saj Chowdhury, “Liverpool 2 - 1 Liverpool”, in BBC:
I'm not saying that thousands of folk are not being inconvenienced, because they most certainly are, but the impact of strikes on government has been blunted.2022 August 24, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Rail strikes deadlock”, in RAIL, number 964, page 3: