blunt

Word family

blunt1 /blʌnt/ adjectiveadj

1 SHARPnot sharp or pointed 钝的，不锋利的，不尖的 OPP sharp

Sharpen all your blunt knives.

把你所有的钝刀子都磨一磨。

a blunt pencil

钝铅笔

2 HONESTspeaking in an honest way even if this upsets people 〔说话〕不客气的，直言不讳的，耿直的 → bluntly

To be blunt, many of the candidates cannot read or write.

说得不客气一点，很多申请人都不会读写。

Julian’s blunt words hurt her.

朱利安一番唐突的话伤害了她。

► see thesaurus at honest

3 blunt instrument

a) a heavy object that is used to hit someone 钝器

The victim suffered a blow to the head from a blunt instrument.

受害人头部遭到钝器袭击。

b) a method of doing something that does not work very well because it has a lot of other effects that you do not want 无效的方法

The exams are a blunt instrument that will reveal little about children’s abilities.

考试并不是有效的方法，它不大能反映孩子的能力。

Examples from the Corpus

blunt instrument• After a while they kidnap and murder a young boy for kicks, bashing him over the head with a blunt instrument.• All the injuries were consistent with an enraged and merciless attack with a blunt instrument.• She looked around for a blunt instrument.• The cause of death had been the terrible bludgeoning he had received from a blunt instrument.• This is a very blunt instrument.• While the men exchanged blows the girl struck Farini from behind with a blunt instrument.• The blunt instrument obstinately refused to reveal itself and he doubted if there were any more revelations to be got out of anybody.• I sometimes think a blunt instrument would do some good for her.

—bluntness noun [uncountableU]

Examples from the Corpus

blunt• Call her candid, a straight shooter, rather than blunt.• Yet he was cagey and knew when to be blunt.• Maria can be very blunt and sometimes shocks people who don't know her well.• His poems can be awkward and blunt but you feel any revision has been towards truth rather than beauty.• blunt criticism• These lads were the blunt end of a much nastier problem.• You don't have to be madly blunt in a political sense.• Police say the victim was hit with a blunt instrument, possibly a hammer.• After a while they kidnap and murder a young boy for kicks, bashing him over the head with a blunt instrument.• I'll be blunt. It's just not going to work.• His response was a blunt "no."• The victim was hit on the head with a blunt object.• I cut myself shaving with a blunt razor.• It's difficult to achieve a good result if you use blunt tools.

blunt2 verb [transitiveT]

1 WEAKto make a feeling less strong 减弱〔情感〕 OPP sharpen

The bad weather blunted their enthusiasm for camping.

糟糕的天气冲淡了他们去露营的热情。

2. SHARPto make the point of a pencil or the edge of a knife less sharp 把〔铅笔尖或刀刃〕弄钝 OPP sharpen

Examples from the Corpus

blunt• His senses were blunted by the whiskey.• Perhaps his arid years in suburbia had blunted his ability to love and be loved.• I slotted in well, but all that vending blunted my edges and did my head in.• That blunts performance and hits fuel economy.• The latest bombing has blunted residents' hopes for peace.• The alcohol had blunted the need for violence, but hadn't removed it.• Methodological difficulties have, however, blunted the phenomenological critique.• While the scene is meant to scare us, it also contains a built-in warning device that blunts the shock.• The sickening feel of woollen gloves being pulled on to your hands and hitting and blunting your fingertips so touch was lost.

Origin blunt1

(1200-1300) Perhaps from Old Norse blundr “sleeping”

blunt1 adjectiveadjblunt2 verb

Chinese

Corpus