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

According to their report, investigators observed “the center conductor dangling free from the bridge section of the tower; it appeared that the remaining two conductors were not bored down to the tower bridge.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Troops can be bored or anxious, but the ships they are on have chaplains and mental health counsellors, he says, and the troops are well-equipped to deal with the stress.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

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

When Selkie was bored with splashing, she grabbed Fred by the tail.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

Related Words

• disinterested
• fatigued
• tired