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

Most of the agents had on tactical gear and had their faces covered and stood with the bored posture of men waiting out a shift of watching over protesters with bullhorns.

From Slate • May 29, 2026

So many of my retired friends are bored.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

Johnson: I actually really enjoy it as a guy who likes to talk and gets really bored in my car in L.A. traffic.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

So what’s a bored, frustrated president to do?

From Salon • May 12, 2026

It sounds like a goofy thing a bored kid with an overbusy imagination would invent, just to get attention.

From "Invisible Inkling" by Emily Jenkins

Related Words

• disinterested
• fatigued
• tired