bland
[bland]
- pleasantly gentle or agreeable: a bland, affable manner.
- soothing or balmy, as air: a bland southern breeze.
- nonirritating, as food or medicines: a bland diet.
- 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.
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Origin of bland
First recorded in 1590–1600, bland is from the Latin word blandus of a smooth tongue, pleasant, soothing
Synonyms
See more synonyms for bland on Thesaurus.com1. affable, mild, amiable; suave, urbane. 2, 3. soft, mild.
Antonyms
1. cruel; boorish. 2. harsh. 3. irritating.
Bland
[bland]
- James A(llen),1854–1911, U.S. songwriter and minstrel performer.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for bland
Contemporary Examples
The Butterbrief, issued by Pope Innocent VIII, was a turning point for the then bland Stollen, which gradually became sweeter.
Because holy hell was that bland, unfunny, uncomfortable, and just plain confusing.
The Biggest Bombs of 2014: ‘Sex Tape,’ Mariah Carey’s Vocals, ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and MoreKevin Fallon
December 19, 2014
Head of State was prescient, but hollow; I Think I Love My Wife was bland; and the documentary Good Hair was fascinating fun.
Oscar Season Kicks Off in Toronto: Channing Tatum, Kristen Stewart, and More Court Awards GloryMarlow Stern
September 14, 2014
How strange to hear “Feel Like Going Home” in 1948 after years of the bland pop on the Hit Parade.
Cosmetic surgery invites us to enter a dystopian universe in which everybody looks the same: poreless, ageless, blond and bland.
Nicole Kidman Botox Insanity: Why All Women Lose Out When We Obsess Over Stars’ FacesEmma Woolf
May 25, 2014
Historical Examples
Who art thou that talkest so freely of cracking the head of Arthur a Bland?
The Merry Adventures of Robin HoodHoward Pyle
Heathcroft, in spite of the close play, was as bland and unconcerned as ever.
Kent Knowles: QuahaugJoseph C. Lincoln
Mr. Bonnithorne listened with a bland smile of amused incredulity.
A Son of HagarSir Hall Caine
But he controlled his features, and maintained a placid, bland expression.
St. Martin's SummerRafael Sabatini
He found him bland and inscrutable, and decided to pin him down.
ScaramoucheRafael Sabatini
bland
- devoid of any distinctive or stimulating characteristics; uninteresting; dullbland food
- gentle and agreeable; suave
- (of the weather) mild and soothing
- unemotional or unmoveda bland account of atrocities
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See also bland out
Word Origin
C15: from Latin blandus flattering
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for bland
adj.
1660s, from Italian blando "delicate," or Old French bland "flattering, complimentary," both from Latin blandus "smooth-talking, flattering, alluring," perhaps from PIE *mlad-, nasalized variant of *meld-, extended form of root *mel- (see melt). Related: Blandly; blandness. Latin also had blandiloquentulus "flattering in speech," which might have yielded a useful English *blandiloquent.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper