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

With people isolated and bored at home during the lockdown, many were more willing to engage in conspiracy theory content the runs rampant online.

From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

"It's so easy just to sit inside, and kids get bored so being able to go outside our front door, play and meet different people, it's really good."

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

Most kids, by then, are bored with summer and itchy from mosquito bites and poison ivy and nothing to do.

From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson

Related Words

• disinterested
• fatigued
• tired