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

"You stay in your room playing the clarinet or writing a poem - there's a certain virtue to being a little bit bored sometimes, and just having to amuse yourself."

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

They are from drill holes bored hundreds of metres below the surface by mineral exploration companies decades ago.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026

As much as I loved being home with my kids and understood the privilege it was, I was bored.

From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026

A classmate had told her about a website where she could create a character to chat with if she ever felt lonely or bored.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

The sounds got louder and louder until they bored into Anya’s brain, tearing at her sanity.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Related Words

• disinterested
• fatigued
• tired