adjective
- having a slanting position or direction; neither perpendicular nor horizontal; not level or upright; inclined
- not straight to the point; not straightforward; indirect
- evasive, disingenuous, underhanded, etc.
- indirectly aimed at or attained: oblique results
- Anat. designating or of any of certain muscles obliquely placed and attached
- Bot. having the sides unequal, as some leaves
- Geom. with its axis not perpendicular to its base: an oblique cone
- Gram. designating or of any case except the nominative and the vocative
Origin:
ME oblike < L obliquus < ob- (see ob-) + liquis, awry < IE *leik-, var. of base *elei-, to bend > ell
noun
an oblique angle, muscle, etc.
intransitive verb obliqued, obliquing
to veer from the perpendicular; slant
adverb
Mil. with a change of direction of approximately 45 degrees