bland
adjective
pleasantly gentle or agreeable.
bland
1 American
[bland]
/ blænd /
adjective
blander,
blandest
-
pleasantly gentle or agreeable.
a bland, affable manner.
-
soothing or balmy, as air.
a bland southern breeze.
- Antonyms:
- harsh
-
nonirritating, as food or medicines.
a bland diet.
- Antonyms:
- irritating
-
not highly flavored; mild; tasteless.
a bland sauce.
-
lacking in special interest, liveliness, individuality, etc.; insipid; dull.
a bland young man; a bland situation comedy.
-
unemotional, indifferent, or casual.
his bland acknowledgment of guilt.
Bland
2
American
[bland]
/ blænd /
noun
bland
British
/ blænd /
adjective
-
devoid of any distinctive or stimulating characteristics; uninteresting; dull
bland food
-
gentle and agreeable; suave
-
(of the weather) mild and soothing
-
unemotional or unmoved
a bland account of atrocities
Other Word Forms
- blandly adverb
- blandness noun
Etymology
Origin of bland
First recorded in 1590–1600, bland is from the Latin word blandus of a smooth tongue, pleasant, soothing
Explanation
When you have a nasty cold and you’re very congested, food can taste unappealingly bland. That means dull, flavorless, or just plain “blah.” Bland comes to us from the Latin word blandus, meaning “mild, smooth, flattering, alluring.” Funny, because today you wouldn't say there's anything "alluring" about something bland. People still use bland to mean pleasant and tranquil, but it more often has a negative connotation. Use it to describe plain old oatmeal before you’ve added brown sugar and berries to it, or to depict the forgettable, uninteresting personality of the lunch lady who served it to you.
Vocabulary lists containing bland
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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"Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He’s the sort of character who tends to come across either bland or unconvincingly cocky-funny.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
I found Ternus polite, friendly, and everything he told me was perfectly delivered, if a bit bland.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
The first season, in 2005, follows her return to TV on a bland network sitcom called “Room and Bored.”
From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026
Well, we are currently living through country-changing upheaval, and instead of feeling thrilled, it’s making me and my friends nostalgic for our steady, bland childhoods.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026
She knew the neutral bland things: how to ask for a glass of water, how to say good morning and good afternoon and good night.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
