obliquity

/oʊˈblɪkwɪti/

Other forms: obliquities

Obliquity is a characteristic of being deliberately indirect or vague, especially to fool or deceive someone. The obliquity of many politicians makes it hard to get a straight answer from them.

If your teacher comments on the obliquity of your poem, it may be a compliment, or it may mean your writing is just hard to understand. And while obliquity isn't a bad quality in a poet, it's less desirable in a math tutor, or anyone who needs to be straightforward and clear. We can trace the origin of obliquity back to the Latin obliquus, "slanting, sidelong, or indirect."

Definitions of obliquity

1. noun

   the quality of being deceptive
   synonyms: deceptiveness

   types:

   meretriciousness, speciousness

   an appearance of truth that is false or deceptive; seeming plausibility

   type of:

   dishonesty

   the quality of being dishonest
2. noun

   the presentation during labor of the head of the fetus at an abnormal angle
   synonyms: asynclitism

   type of:

   abnormalcy, abnormality

   an abnormal physical condition resulting from defective genes or developmental deficiencies