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definitions

bland

[bland]
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adjective, bland·er, bland·est.

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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RELATED WORDS

tedious, watery, insipid, boring, wishy-washy, tame, banal, dull, pleasant, amiable, soft, blah, flat, flavorless, humdrum, monotonous, nothing, pabulum, unexciting, uninteresting

Nearby words

  1. blanco,
  2. blanco fombona, rufino,
  3. blanco, antonio guzmán,
  4. blanco-fombona,
  5. blancs,
  6. bland diet,
  7. bland out,
  8. bland-allison act,
  9. blandish,
  10. blandishment

Origin of bland

First recorded in 1590–1600, bland is from the Latin word blandus of a smooth tongue, pleasant, soothing
ANTONYMS FOR bland
1. cruel; boorish. 2. harsh. 3. irritating.
SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR bland ON THESAURUS.COM
Related formsbland·ly, adverbbland·ness, noun

Bland

[bland]

noun

James A(llen),1854–1911, U.S. songwriter and minstrel performer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bland

British Dictionary definitions for bland

bland

adjective

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
See also bland out
Derived Formsblandly, adverbblandness, noun

Word Origin for bland

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

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper