oblique

About 4.73 uses per million words.

Meaning

1. adjective Not erect or perpendicular; not parallel to, or at right angles from, the base.

   Italic fonts are sometimes described as oblique in typographic terminology.

2. adjective Not straightforward; indirect; by implication; obscure, ambiguous, or confusing.

   The email from HR obliquely informed her that some complaints about her had been received.

3. adjective Disingenuous; underhand; morally corrupt.
4. adjective Not direct in descent; not following the line of father and son; collateral.
5. adjective Having the base of the blade asymmetrical, with one side lower than the other.

   Oblique leaf bases of Ulmus americana

6. adjective Growing at an angle that is neither vertical nor horizontal.
7. adjective Pertaining to the oblique case (non-nominative).
8. adjective Indirect; employing the actual words of the speaker but as related by a third person, having the first person in pronoun and verb converted into the third person and adverbs of present time into the past, etc.

   They found out obliquely that she had heard from HR about the comments and was taking some time to absorb the sting of an implied reprimand.

Similar words

sideways collateral indirect crabwise bias devious oblique case diagonal nonparallel catercorner

Often followed by

and muscle to view line angle muscles direction position

Word family

oblique muscle obliquely obliqueness obliquenesses obliques