1
2
b
: devious, underhanded
… the open, above-board fury of his mind coagulated, thickened, and sunk to a dull, evil hatred, a wicked, oblique malevolence.—
Frank Norris
Frank Norris3
: situated at an angle and having one end not inserted on bone
oblique muscles
4
: taken from an airplane with the camera directed horizontally or diagonally downward
an oblique photograph
obliquely
adverb
obliqueness
noun
1
: something (such as a line) that is oblique
2
or oblique muscle
: 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
: at a 45 degree angle
To the right oblique, march!
Examples of oblique in a Sentence
Adjective
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
The short lines of the letter “k” are oblique lines.
gave the eavesdropper an oblique glance out of the corner of her eye
Noun
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
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
The short lines of the letter “k” are oblique lines.
gave the eavesdropper an oblique glance out of the corner of her eye
Noun
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
Recent Examples on the Web
Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Oct. 2025
The offense looked lost when Roman Anthony went down with an oblique injury in early September.
—Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
Cameron Belcher, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
With Maxi Kleber sidelined for at least the next couple of weeks because of a strained oblique, Hayes was the primary backup big man behind starting center Deandre Ayton in Tuesday’s season-opening loss to the Golden State Warriors, recording four points and six rebounds in 14 minutes.
—Khobi Price, Oc Register, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for oblique
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Adjective
The pain appeared to stem from Springer's right side — potentially the hip or oblique — but there is no further information.
—Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Oct. 2025
The offense looked lost when Roman Anthony went down with an oblique injury in early September.
—Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 26 Oct. 2025
Noun
In 2024, Derek Carr retired months before the season after injuring his oblique.
—Cameron Belcher, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
With Maxi Kleber sidelined for at least the next couple of weeks because of a strained oblique, Hayes was the primary backup big man behind starting center Deandre Ayton in Tuesday’s season-opening loss to the Golden State Warriors, recording four points and six rebounds in 14 minutes.
—Khobi Price, Oc Register, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for oblique
Cite this Entry
“Oblique.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oblique. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
oblique
2 of 2 noun
variants
or oblique muscle
: any of several oblique muscles: as
a
: either of two flat muscles on each side that form the middle and outer layers of the lateral walls of the abdomen, that have aponeuroses extending medially to ensheathe the rectus muscles and fusing in the midventral line in the linea alba, and that act to compress the abdominal contents and to assist in expelling the contents of various visceral organs (as in urination, defecation, parturition, and expiration):
(1)
: one that forms the outer layer of the lateral abdominal wall
called also external oblique, obliquus externus, obliquus externus abdominis
(2)
: one situated under the external oblique in the lateral and ventral part of the abdominal wall
called also internal oblique, obliquus internus, obliquus internus abdominis
b(1)
: a long thin extraocular muscle that arises just above the margin of the optic foramen, is inserted on the upper part of the eyeball, and moves the eye downward and laterally
called also superior oblique, obliquus superior oculi
(2)
: a short extraocular muscle that arises from the orbital surface of the maxilla, is inserted slightly in front of and below the superior oblique, and moves the eye upward and laterally
called also inferior oblique, obliquus inferior oculi
c(1)
: a muscle that arises from the superior surface of the transverse process of the atlas, passes medially upward to insert into the occipital bone, and functions to extend the head and bend it to the side
called also obliquus capitis superior, obliquus superior
(2)
: a muscle that arises from the apex of the spinous process of the axis, inserts into the transverse process of the atlas, and rotates the atlas turning the face in the same direction
called also obliquus capitis inferior, obliquus inferior
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