oblique

[uh-bleek, oh-bleek; Military uh-blahyk, oh-blahyk] /əˈblik, oʊˈblik; Military əˈblaɪk, oʊˈblaɪk/
adjective
1.
neither perpendicular nor parallel to a given line or surface; slanting; sloping.
2.
(of a solid) not having the axis perpendicular to the plane of the base.
3.
diverging from a given straight line or course.
4.
not straight or direct, as a course.
5.
indirectly stated or expressed; not straightforward:
oblique remarks about the candidate's honesty.
6.
indirectly aimed at or reached, as ends or results; deviously achieved.
7.
morally, ethically, or mentally wrong; underhand; perverse.
8.
Typography. (of a letter) slanting toward the right, as a form of sans-serif, gothic, or square-serif type.
9.
Rhetoric. indirect (applied to discourse in which the original words of a speaker or writer are assimilated to the language of the reporter).
10.
Anatomy. pertaining to muscles running obliquely in the body as opposed to those running transversely or longitudinally.
11.
Botany. having unequal sides, as a leaf.
12.
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.
13.
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
14.
Military. at an angle of 45°.
verb (used without object), obliqued, obliquing.
15.
Military. to change direction obliquely.
noun
16.
something that is oblique.
17.
Grammar. an oblique case.
18.
Anatomy. any of several oblique muscles, especially in the walls of the abdomen.
Origin
1400-50; late Middle English oblike < Latin oblīquus slanting; see ob- (second element obscure)
Related forms
obliqueness, noun
suboblique, adjective
subobliquely, adverb
subobliqueness, noun
Synonyms
5, 6. indirect, veiled, masked, covert.
Examples from the web for oblique
  • By depositing these rods at an oblique angle, the scientists created an uneven film with various gaps in it.
  • Leaving options on the table is a not-so-oblique way of threatening war.
  • Thanks for making my oblique implications more explicit.
  • He began the year on the disabled list with a strained oblique.
  • And the requests contained oblique references to a mysterious form from which the questions were drawn.
  • The images he uses are complicated and sometimes oblique.
  • But the ads remained steadfastly oblique about what consumers do after they tear along the perforated line.
  • It has three principal diameters: antero-posterior, transverse, and oblique.
  • More anteriorly is an oblique ridge, the conchal crest, for articulation with the inferior nasal concha.
  • The transverse axis about which movement takes place is slightly oblique.
British Dictionary definitions for oblique

oblique

/əˈbliːk/
adjective
1.
at an angle; slanting; sloping
2.
(geometry)
  1. (of lines, planes, etc) neither perpendicular nor parallel to one another or to another line, plane, etc
  2. not related to or containing a right angle
3.
indirect or evasive
4.
(grammar) denoting any case of nouns, pronouns, etc, other than the nominative and vocative
5.
(biology) having asymmetrical sides or planes: an oblique leaf
6.
(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
7.
something oblique, esp a line
8.
another name for solidus (sense 1)
9.
(nautical) the act of changing course by less than 90°
10.
an aerial photograph taken at an oblique angle
verb (intransitive)
11.
to take or have an oblique direction
12.
(of a military formation) to move forward at an angle
Derived Forms
obliquely, adverb
obliqueness, noun
Word Origin
C15: from Old French, from Latin oblīquus, of obscure origin
Word Origin and History for oblique
adj.

early 15c., from Middle French oblique (14c.) and directly from Latin obliquus "slanting, sidelong, indirect," from ob "against" (see ob-) + root of licinus "bent upward," from PIE root *lei- "to bend, be movable" (see limb (n.1)). As a type of muscles, in reference to the axis of the body, 1610s (adj.), 1800 (n.). Related: Obliquely; obliqueness.

oblique in Medicine

oblique o·blique (ō-blēk', ə-blēk')
adj.
Situated in a slanting position; not transverse or longitudinal.

o·blique'ness n.