obtusity

plural obtusities

1. countableuncountableobtuseness

   Some ladies would have thought it high time to leave the Squire alone with his chestnut tree; or, at all events, unnecessary to keep up that tone of high-souled feminine obtusity which they are quite justified in adopting if the gentlemen will not speak out—but Jane again does neither.

   1848 December, “Vanity Fair--and Jane Eyre”, in London Quarterly Review, Elizabeth: Rigby

   Synonyms: obtuseness