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# oblique

«oblique» in Mova's school dictionary: **slanting, not straight up and not flat; at an angle** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adjective (oblique; more oblique); noun (an oblique — UK, the slash sign /)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Oblique means slanting, not straight up and not flat; at an angle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oblique/#m1)

2) (maths) An oblique line meets another line at an angle that is not a right angle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oblique/#m2)

3) Oblique words say something in an indirect way, not plainly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oblique/#m3)

4) (UK) An oblique is the slash sign /, as in «and/or». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oblique/#m4)

5) Oblique narration (also called reported speech) means telling what someone said in your own words, without repeating their exact words. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oblique/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In maths and geometry it describes lines and shapes that lean: an oblique line, an oblique prism or cone, an oblique angle (any angle that is not 90 or 180 degrees). In art and maps it describes a slanted view. In stories an oblique remark is a hint rather than a clear statement, so the reader must work out what is meant. Phrases: «at an oblique angle», «an oblique reference».

### examples

- The sun's rays hit the ground at an oblique angle in winter. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oblique/#x1)
- Draw an oblique line from one corner of the square. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oblique/#x2)
- An oblique angle is either acute or obtuse. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oblique/#x3)
- The photo was taken from an oblique view above the town. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oblique/#x4)
- She made an oblique comment about people who are always late. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oblique/#x5)
- His answer was so oblique that nobody understood it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oblique/#x6)
- The ladder leaned at an oblique angle against the wall. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oblique/#x7)
- Write the date as day oblique month in that box. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oblique/#x8)
- I have given him a name, and changed the narration into the oblique narration, and toned down the dialect. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oblique/#x9)

### note

Pronounced «oh-BLEEK». Opposite of «perpendicular» or «straight». In maths an oblique angle is NOT a right angle; oblique lines are not parallel and not perpendicular. Adverb: obliquely. The slash meaning is mostly British.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «oblique» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oblique/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.