bored

American  

[bawrd] / bɔrd /

adjective

1. wearied by dullness or sameness (often followed by with, of, orby ).

   This activity will keep bored children entertained on those long summer days.

   She's bored with the color of her room and has decided to paint it.

   I never seem to get bored of this game.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of bore.

Etymology

Origin of bored

First recorded in 1820–30; bore ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective; bore ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb

Explanation

When you are bored, nothing is engaging you. If you're on a long flight, you forgot your book, and there's no movie, you might become bored. The adjective bored comes from boredom, the state of being where nothing is interesting or exciting. If you only understand English, you'll probably get bored quickly listening to German talk radio. It's hard not to be bored by a six hour bus ride on a featureless interstate highway. If you are deeply, spiritually bored by the world, you are suffering from ennui — that's boredom in French!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bored

We were reading “The Secret Garden” out loud, round robin, and I was bored.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

“I think the market is bored of Truth until that deal happens.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Operation manager Wayne Barrett said: "I think the pilot was literally a bit bored as it was just a test flight. Mind you it was pretty skillful flying."

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Nevertheless, the claustrophobic framing shrinks an epic voyage into small-screen content made solely for a bored child to hold right up to their nose.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

The Egyptian men and women milled about, some just sitting at their stalls, seeming awfully bored of it all.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Related Words

• disinterested
• fatigued
• tired