drab
1- dull; cheerless; lacking in spirit, brightness, etc.
- having the color drab.
- dull gray; dull brownish or yellowish gray.
- any of several fabrics of this color, especially of thick wool or cotton.
Origin of drab
1Related Words for drabness
insipidness, dreariness, blandness, flatness, stodginess, vapidity, dryness, insipidity, dinginess, gloominess, boringnessExamples from the Web for drabness
Contemporary Examples of drabness
After the drabness of the 1950s, her clothes were chic and slightly transgressive, but not haute couture.
Historical Examples of drabness
The rays of the setting sun brought out the drabness of her.
DustMr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
So began a merry interlude in the drabness of the Handsomebody regime.
Explorers of the DawnMazo de la Roche
There was time to see the drabness of his boarding place, so he changed it.
StubbleGeorge Looms
Neither dress nor ceremony had yet been curtailed by the drabness of Democracy.
Seaport in VirginiaGay Montague Moore
Michael enjoyed Mr. Neech's eccentricities after the drabness of the Special.
Sinister Street, vol. 1Compton Mackenzie
drab
1- dull; dingy; shabby
- cheerless; drearya drab evening
- of the colour drab
- a light olive-brown colour
- a fabric of a dull grey or brown colour
Word Origin for drab
drab
2- a slatternly woman
- a whore
- (intr) to consort with prostitutes
Word Origin for drab
Word Origin and History for drabness
drab
1680s, "color of natural, undyed cloth," from Middle French drap (see drape (n.)). Figurative sense is c.1880. Apparently not related to earlier word meaning "a dirty, untidy woman" (1510s), "a prostitute" (1520s), which seems to be connected with Irish drabog, Gaelic drabag "dirty woman," and perhaps with Low German drabbe "dirt." Ultimately perhaps from PIE *dher- "to make muddy." Meaning "small, petty debt" (the sense in dribs and drabs) is 1828, of uncertain connection to the other senses.
Idioms and Phrases with drabness
drab
see dribs and drabs.