I. blunt 1 /blʌnt/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Origin: Perhaps from Old Norse blundr 'sleeping' ]
1 . not sharp or pointed OPP sharp :
Sharpen all your blunt knives.
a blunt pencil
2 . speaking in an honest way even if this upsets people ⇨ bluntly :
To be blunt, many of the candidates cannot read or write.
Julian’s blunt words hurt her.
3 . blunt instrument
a) a heavy object that is used to hit someone:
The victim suffered a blow to the head from a blunt instrument.
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:
The exams are a blunt instrument that will reveal little about children’s abilities.
—bluntness noun [uncountable]
II. blunt 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to make a feeling less strong OPP sharpen :
The bad weather blunted their enthusiasm for camping.
2 . to make the point of a pencil or the edge of a knife less sharp OPP sharpen