¹oblique

adjective \ō-ˈblēk, ə-, -ˈblīk; military usually ī\

: not direct : not stated directly

of a line : having a slanting direction or position : neither perpendicular nor parallel

Full Definition of OBLIQUE

a : neither perpendicular nor parallel : inclined

b : having the axis not perpendicular to the base <an oblique cone>

c : having no right angle <an oblique triangle>

a : not straightforward : indirect; also : obscure

: situated at an angle and having one end not inserted on bone <oblique muscles>

: taken from an airplane with the camera directed horizontally or diagonally downward <an oblique photograph>

— oblique·ly adverb

— oblique·ness noun

See oblique defined for English-language learners

See oblique defined for kids

Harden … , who missed a month with a strained left oblique muscle, has become one of the game's most intimidating starters in just his second full big league season. —Albert Chen, Sports Illustrated, 8 Aug. 2005
They were painted in oil paints on old-fashioned canvas. But the manner of their portrayal was oblique and enigmatic, with an element of hide-and-seek in which hiding most often won out over seeking. —John Russell, New York Times Magazine, 11 Nov. 1990
The driveway met the street at an oblique angle, and a jutting corner of the customer's cinderblock building, a large power pole, and a berm of trash (pallets, pails, chunks of wood) made it a dogleg affair. —Bryan Di Salvatore, New Yorker, 12 Sept. 1988
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Middle English oblike, from Latin obliquus

First Known Use: 15th century

Synonyms: askew, aslant, atilt, cock-a-hoop, cockeyed, crazy, crooked, listing, lopsided, awry, off-kilter, pitched, skewed, slanted, slanting, slantwise, tilted, tipping, uneven

noun \ō-ˈblēk, ə-, -ˈblīk; military usually ī\

: something (as a line) that is oblique

: any of several oblique muscles; especially : any of the thin flat muscles forming the middle and outer layers of the lateral walls of the abdomen

See oblique defined for English-language learners

We each received a list of every muscle group (back, inner thighs, outer thighs, quads, biceps, obliques, upper abs, etc.), with detailed comments on which ones we needed to change. —anonymous, Cosmopolitan, November 2007
He hammered on my back with both fists, but I had a lot of muscle layer to protect back there. Twenty years of working on the lats and the lateral obliques. I got hold of his shirtfront with both hands and pulled him away from the wall and slammed him back up against it. —Robert B. Parker, Mortal Stakes, 1975
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