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

Bored out of their minds, they riff on customers and even play hockey to pass the time.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 29, 2025

Bored at a dinner party or work meeting but don’t want to come off as rude by pulling out your phone to scroll?

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 21, 2025

Last month, Taylor sold his most valuable Bored Ape for $212,000 after previously turning down much better offers for it.

From BBC • Nov. 9, 2023

Bored of her aesthetic: The influencer who became too influential.

From New York Times • Jun. 23, 2023

Bored, I went back inside, took off my shirt, lay down on the heat-soaked vinyl of the lower bunk mattress, and closed my eyes.

From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green

Related Words

• disinterested
• fatigued
• tired