rounded

1. 1
   adjective

   Made into the shape of a circle or sphere, without sharp corners or edges.

   The rounded edges of the table kept the toddlers safe.

   Centuries of tumbling water left the river stones perfectly rounded.

   Similarcurved, smooth, circular

   Oppositesharp, angular, pointed

2. 2
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of round.

   The ship rounded the cape just before the storm hit.

   She had rounded each figure to the nearest dollar.

   Note

   One spelling does two jobs here: the plain past (the ship rounded the cape) and the participle after have or be (the figures had been rounded down). A small word often carries the meaning. Numbers are rounded up or down, a plan is rounded out when it is finished, and someone who rounded on a critic turned to attack them. As a participle it also passes easily into the adjective of shape.

3. 3
   adjective

   Complete and well balanced, with no important aspect missing or overemphasized.

   The committee wanted a rounded report rather than one narrow opinion.

   His training gave him a rounded set of skills for the job.

   Similarbalanced, comprehensive, complete

   Oppositenarrow, one-sided

   Note

   Writing about fiction leans on this sense for characters. Aaron Cohen, reviewing in Gay Community News in 1980, called one character "much less rounded in the writing" because she has only one goal in every scene. A rounded character, in that use, has more than one side. The word grades easily, so a character can be more rounded, less rounded or much less rounded.

4. 4
   adjective

   Of a number, changed to its nearest convenient value, such as the closest whole number, ten, or hundred.

   The report listed rounded totals to keep the table readable.

   Her rounded estimate came surprisingly close to the precise sum.

   Similarapproximate

   Oppositeexact, precise

   Note

   Arithmetic's word for a value that has given up precision on purpose. A figure is always rounded to something: the nearest whole number, a set number of decimal places, or a set number of significant figures. Naming which one tells the reader how much detail was dropped. The verb behind it works in both directions, so a value can be rounded up or rounded down.

5. 5
   adjective

   Of a speech sound, produced with the lips drawn together and pushed slightly forward.

   The vowel in 'who' is a rounded sound made with the lips pushed forward.

   Many languages contrast rounded and unrounded vowels.

   Oppositeunrounded

   Note

   Phoneticians classify speech sounds partly by what the lips do, and this term names one side of that choice. In /u/ the lips are pushed forward and the opening narrows. In /i/ they stay spread, and much of the difference between the two vowels comes from lip shape alone. The technical opposite is unrounded, and the term applies to consonants as well as vowels.

6. 6
   adjective

   Of a leaf or other part, ending in a broad, smooth arch rather than a sharp tip.

   Botanists noted the rounded tips of the lower leaves.

   The species is known for its broadly rounded leaf bases.

   Similarblunt

   Oppositepointed, acute

   Note

   Botanical descriptions use this word for either end of a leaf or petal, the tip (apex) or the base. A rounded end forms one broad, even arch with no angle in it. An obtuse end is different: it is blunt but still meets at a wide angle. An acute end narrows to a point. Descriptions usually say which end is meant, as in rounded at the apex or rounded at the base.

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