oblique /oʊbliː k/
1 ADJ If you describe a statement as oblique , you mean that is not expressed directly or openly, making it difficult to understand. □ Mr Golding delivered an oblique warning, talking of the danger of sudden action. ● oblique|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ He obliquely referred to the U.S., Britain and Saudi Arabia.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] An oblique line is a straight line that is not horizontal or vertical. An oblique angle is any angle other than a right angle. □ It lies between the plain and the sea at an oblique angle to the coastline. ● oblique|ly ADV [ADV after v] □ This muscle runs obliquely downwards inside the abdominal cavity.
oblit|erate /əbl I təre I t/ (obliterates , obliterating , obliterated )
1 VERB If something obliterates an object or place, it destroys it completely. □ [V n] Their warheads are enough to obliterate the world several times over. ● oblit|era|tion /əbl I təre I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …the obliteration of three isolated rainforests.
2 VERB If you obliterate something such as a memory, emotion, or thought, you remove it completely from your mind. [LITERARY ] □ [V n] There was time enough to obliterate memories of how things once were for him.
oblivi|on /əbl I viən/
1 N‑UNCOUNT [usu into N ] Oblivion is the state of not being aware of what is happening around you, for example because you are asleep or unconscious. □ He just drank himself into oblivion.
2 N‑UNCOUNT [usu into N ] Oblivion is the state of having been forgotten or of no longer being considered important. □ It seems that the so-called new theory is likely to sink into oblivion.
3 N‑UNCOUNT If you say that something is bombed or blasted into oblivion , you are emphasizing that it is completely destroyed. [EMPHASIS ] □ An entire poor section of town was bombed into oblivion.
oblivi|ous /əbl I viəs/ ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] If you are oblivious to something or oblivious of it, you are not aware of it. □ [+ to/of ] She lay motionless where she was, oblivious to pain. ● ob|livi|ous|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ Burke was asleep, sprawled obliviously against the window. ● ob|livi|ous|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] Her obliviousness of what was happening in Germany seems extraordinary.
ob|long /ɒ blɒŋ, [AM ] -lɔːŋ/ (oblongs ) N‑COUNT [oft N n] An oblong is a shape which has two long sides and two short sides and in which all the angles are right angles. □ …an oblong table.
ob|nox|ious /ɒbnɒ kʃəs/ ADJ If you describe someone as obnoxious, you think that they are very unpleasant. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ One of the parents was a most obnoxious character. No-one liked him.
oboe /oʊ boʊ/ (oboes ) N‑VAR An oboe is a musical instrument shaped like a tube which you play by blowing through a double reed in the top end. WORD HISTORY oboe
Oboe comes from French haut bois , meaning 'high wood', a reference to the instrument's high pitch compared to other instruments of the woodwind family.
obo|ist /oʊ boʊ I st/ (oboists ) N‑COUNT An oboist is someone who plays the oboe.
ob|scene /ɒbsiː n/
1 ADJ If you describe something as obscene , you mean it offends you because it relates to sex or violence in a way that you think is unpleasant and shocking. □ I'm not prudish but I think these photographs are obscene. □ He continued to use obscene language and also to make threats.
2 ADJ In legal contexts, books, pictures, or films which are judged obscene are illegal because they deal with sex or violence in a way that is considered offensive to the general public. □ A city magistrate ruled that the novel was obscene and copies should be destroyed.
3 ADJ If you describe something as obscene , you disapprove of it very strongly and consider it to be offensive or immoral. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ It was obscene to spend millions producing unwanted food.
ob|scen|ity /ɒbse n I ti/ (obscenities )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Obscenity is behaviour, art, or language that is sexual and offends or shocks people. □ He insisted these photographs were not art but obscenity.
2 N‑VAR An obscenity is a very offensive word or expression. □ They shouted obscenities at us and smashed bottles on the floor.
ob|scu|rant|ism /ɒ bskjʊræ ntizəm, [AM ] ɒbskjʊ rənt-/ N‑UNCOUNT Obscurantism is the practice or policy of deliberately making something vague and difficult to understand, especially in order to prevent people from finding out the truth. [FORMAL or WRITTEN ] □ …legalistic obscurantism.
ob|scu|rant|ist /ɒ bskjʊræ nt I st, [AM ] ɒbskjʊ rənt-/ ADJ If you describe something as obscurantist , you mean that it is deliberately vague and difficult to understand, so that it prevents people from finding out the truth about it. [FORMAL or WRITTEN ] □ I think that a lot of poetry published today is obscurantist nonsense.
ob|scure /ɒbskjʊə r / (obscurer , obscurest , obscures , obscuring , obscured )
1 ADJ If something or someone is obscure , they are unknown, or are known by only a few people. □ The origin of the custom is obscure. □ The hymn was written by an obscure Greek composer.
2 ADJ Something that is obscure is difficult to understand or deal with, usually because it involves so many parts or details. □ The contracts are written in obscure language.
3 VERB If one thing obscures another, it prevents it from being seen or heard properly. □ [be V -ed] One wall of the parliament building is now almost completely obscured by a huge banner.