bland
adjective
pleasantly gentle or agreeable.
bland
1 American
[bland]
/ blænd /
adjective
-
blander,
comparative
-
blandest
superlative
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
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.
See Examples For:
Under the proposals, packging would need to be bland, with limits on what imagery and branding could be used.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
More than this, Washington was not a beautiful man, but rather colorless, pockmarked, bland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Some enjoy their khichuri bland, with no vegetables or seasonings.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2026
“Shrinking” still delivers warm, gooey vibes, much like newcomer “Rooster,” the Steve Carell comedy that shares the bland sad-com DNA of co-creator Bill Lawrence.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026
He thought of all the food it might buy: delicious food, sweet food, juicy and fresh food, not the bland, tasteless meals they always had at the Home.
From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech
Sunday at an apartment in the 8000 block of Owensmouth Avenue, according to Los Angeles Police Capt. Mike Bland.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
“This is an absolute tragedy and given the number of deceased, the Robbery-Homicide Special is handling the investigation,” said Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Mike Bland.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
Veteran Englishman Richard Bland cashed in on the romance of his one DP World Tour victory, the 2021 British Masters, which effectively earned him an invitation to play LIV tournaments.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
Cameron Smith and Sergio Garcia each received $131,625 for a share of 40th place and Richard Bland pocketed $126,000 for coming 46th out of 57.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026
“I’ll find it. I’ll see you all tomorrow. Tell Mrs Bland I’m sorry I spoiled her party.”
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
Pressure from these investors may also add to the US app feeling "blander" said Mr Navarra.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2025
Consumers, bored by the softer, blander Red Delicious variety that had ruled grocery aisles for decades, discovered an apple that was sweet and so texturally satisfying they never looked back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025
The flavors of zucchini and yellow summer squash are similar, with the yellow versions being a little blander, and sometimes less firm in texture.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
The rest of the festival is taking place at more traditional theaters, and while the musical values are generally superb, it can all hardly help but feel blander, less of a special occasion than “Resurrection.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 8, 2022
Those “unnatural” feeds make chickens with mushier and blander meat.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
Temperatures are dropping, grocery prices keep climbing, and there’s a small, almost alchemical satisfaction in transforming the blandest, cheapest grain in the aisle into a breakfast worth lingering over.
From Salon ● Nov. 13, 2025
NFL coaches are the blandest leaders in sports, and they’ve been intentional about building that reputation.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 8, 2023
By contrast, Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly described the opening scene as "the blandest possible orientation, Epic Fantasy for Dummies" and said the good news is that "the beginning is the worst part."
From Reuters ● Aug. 19, 2022
At its blandest, it’s also shown that NOS, or nitrous-oxide-systems-fueled, operatics and sleeveless melodrama can carry the audience only so far.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2021
Those self-important women gained local immortality for the blandest, the most timid of eccentricities—walking a cat on a dog’s lead, riding about on a man’s bike, being seen with a sandwich in the street.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
