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Entry 6 senses · 3 variants Webster, 1913

Oblique

/əb-lēk'/ · Ob·lique · IPA /oʊˈbliːk/
01 a. Not erect or perpendicular; neither parallel to, nor at right angles from, the base; slanting; inclined.
  1. 1.
    Not erect or perpendicular; neither parallel to, nor at right angles from, the base; slanting; inclined.
    “It has a direction oblique to that of the former motion.” — Cheyne.
  2. 2.
    Not straightforward; indirect; obscure;
    “The love we bear our friends . . . Hath in it certain oblique ends.” — Drayton.
    “This mode of oblique research, when a more direct one is denied, we find to be the only one in our power.” — De Quincey.
    “Then would be closed the restless, oblique eye. That looks for evil, like a treacherous spy.” — Wordworth.
  3. 3.
    Not direct in descent; not following the line of father and son; collateral.
    “His natural affection in a direct line was strong, in an oblique but weak.” — Baker.
Phrases & compounds
Oblique angle — See under Angle, Ascension, etc.
Oblique arch — an arch whose jambs are not at right angles with the face, and whose intrados is in consequence askew.
Oblique bridge — a skew bridge. See under Bridge, n.
Oblique case — any case except the nominative. See Case, n.
Oblique circle — a circle whose plane is oblique to the axis of the primitive plane.
Oblique fire — a fire the direction of which is not perpendicular to the line fired at.
Oblique flank — that part of the curtain whence the fire of the opposite bastion may be discovered.
Oblique leaf — A leaf twisted or inclined from the normal position.
Oblique line — a line that, meeting or tending to meet another, makes oblique angles with it.
Oblique motion — a kind of motion or progression in which one part ascends or descends, while the other prolongs or repeats the same tone, as in the accompanying example.
Oblique muscle — a muscle acting in a direction oblique to the mesial plane of the body, or to the associated muscles; -- applied especially to two muscles of the eyeball.
Oblique narration — See Oblique speech.
Oblique planes — planes which decline from the zenith, or incline toward the horizon.
Oblique sailing — the movement of a ship when she sails upon some rhumb between the four cardinal points, making an oblique angle with the meridian.
Oblique speech — speech which is quoted indirectly, or in a different person from that employed by the original speaker.
Oblique sphere — the celestial or terrestrial sphere when its axis is oblique to the horizon of the place; or as it appears to an observer at any point on the earth except the poles and the equator.
Oblique step — a step in marching, by which the soldier, while advancing, gradually takes ground to the right or left at an angle of about 25°. It is not now practiced.
Oblique system of coordinates — a system in which the coordinate axes are oblique to each other.
02 n. An oblique line.
  1. 1.
    An oblique line.(Geom.)
03 v. i. To deviate from a perpendicular line; to move in an oblique direction.
imp. & p. p. Obliqued; p. pr. & vb. n. Obliquing
  1. 1.
    To deviate from a perpendicular line; to move in an oblique direction.
    “Projecting his person towards it in a line which obliqued from the bottom of his spine.” — Sir. W. Scott.
  2. 2.
    To march in a direction oblique to the line of the column or platoon; -- formerly accomplished by oblique steps, now by direct steps, the men half-facing either to the right or left.(Mil.)