abstruse/obtuse
Most people first encounter “obtuse”
in geometry class, where it labels an angle of more than 90 degrees and less
than 180. Imagine what sort of blunt arrowhead that kind of angle would make
and you will understand why it also has a figurative meaning of “dull, stupid.”
But people often mix the word up with “abstruse,” which means “difficult to
understand.”
When you mean to criticize something
for being needlessly complex or baffling, the word you need is not “obtuse,”
but “abstruse.”
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