dullness

American  

[duhl-nis] / ˈdʌl nɪs /

noun

1. the quality or condition of being dull; bluntness or lack of sharpness, as of a blade or point.

2. a boring or uninteresting quality.

3. a lack of energy or liveliness; sluggish quality.

4. the quality of lacking light, brightness, clarity, or color; dimness.

5. a lack of intelligence; slowness of mind or thinking; stupidity.

6. a lack of intensity, acuteness, or keenness, as of pain or perception.

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Explanation

When something is either muted and drab or incredibly boring, it has the quality of dullness. If you want to counteract your bedroom's dullness, why don't you paint the walls bright yellow with purple polka dots? The dullness of late winter gradually ends when spring finally arrives with its bright colors and shining sunlight. The dullness of your most boring class will eventually come to an end as well, when the bell rings and it's time for lunch. Dullness describes a lack of vividness or excitement, and it can also be used for a lack of intelligence: "My dog is sweet, but her dullness makes it impossible to teach her any tricks."

Example Sentences

The franchise is in danger of permanently opening the Doorway to Dullness if it nullifies the law of gravity so its characters’ deaths have no weight, as “What If ...?” shows.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 6, 2021

Dullness and disengagement are problems to be solved.

From Salon • Jul. 29, 2017

Dullness and indifference are the reali ties of prison, but these, of course, are poor ingredients for a movie.

From Time Magazine Archive

Dullness has been increased, but with no real gain in intelligence�and at the expense of the antic badness that sometimes enlivened the initial episodes.

From Time Magazine Archive

Because at that moment, as I turned to go down the hall toward the Dungeon of Deadly Dullness that I was sure awaited me in Room 130 of that school, I was overfilled with misery.

From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan