dull

[ duhl ]

adjective

, dull·er, dull·est.

1. not sharp; blunt:

   a dull knife.

   Antonyms: keen, sharp

2. causing boredom; tedious; uninteresting:

   a dull sermon.

   Synonyms: vapid, dreary, tiresome, boring

   Antonyms: interesting

3. not lively or spirited; listless.

   Synonyms: inert, inactive, torpid, apathetic

4. not bright, intense, or clear; dim:

   a dull day; a dull sound.

5. having very little depth of color; lacking in richness or intensity of color.
6. slow in motion or action; not brisk; sluggish:

   a dull day in the stock market.

7. mentally slow; lacking brightness of mind; somewhat stupid; obtuse.

   Synonyms: unimaginative, stolid, unintelligent

   Antonyms: bright

8. lacking keenness of perception in the senses or feelings; insensible; unfeeling.
9. not intense or acute:

   a dull pain.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to make or become dull.

   Synonyms: benumb, deaden, blunt, discourage, dishearten, depress

dull

/ dʌl /

adjective

1. slow to think or understand; stupid
2. lacking in interest
3. lacking in perception or the ability to respond; insensitive
4. lacking sharpness; blunt
5. not acute, intense, or piercing
6. (of weather) not bright or clear; cloudy
7. not active, busy, or brisk
8. lacking in spirit or animation; listless
9. (of colour) lacking brilliance or brightness; sombre
10. not loud or clear; muffled
11. med (of sound elicited by percussion, esp of the chest) not resonant

verb

1. to make or become dull

Derived Forms

• ˈdully, adverb
• ˈdullish, adjective
• ˈdullness, noun

Other Words From

• dullness dulness noun
• dully adverb
• un·dulled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dull¹

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English; akin to Old English dol “foolish, stupid”; cognate with German toll

Word History and Origins

Origin of dull¹

Old English dol; related to Old Norse dul conceit, Old High German tol foolish, Greek tholeros confused

Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with dull , also see never a dull moment .

Synonym Study

Dull, blunt refer to the edge or point of an instrument, tool, or the like. Dull implies a lack or a loss of keenness or sharpness: a dull razor or saw. Blunt may mean the same or may refer to an edge or point not intended to be keen or sharp: a blunt or stub pen; a blunt foil. Dull, blunt, slow, stupid are applied to mental qualities. Dull implies obtuseness, lack of imagination: a dull child. Blunt implies loss of original keenness of intelligence through disease, sad experience, or the like: His critical faculties were blunt. Slow applies to a sluggish intellect: a slow mind. Stupid implies slowness of mental processes, but also lack of intelligence, wisdom, prudence, etc.: a stupid person.

Example Sentences

Both are real questions high-schoolers face at this point in their lives, but that doesn’t amount to engaging conflict here thanks to a dull screenplay.

From Washington Post

Finally, Winceworth finds his labor to be so dull that he creates fake words and sneaks them into Swansby’s Dictionary.

From Washington Blade

A dull village life might have prompted our ancestors to explore what might be across that river, or perhaps to try a new berry they found in the woods.

From Popular-Science

Place the shiny side next to your body, as the dull silver side reflects only 65 percent of radiated heat.

From Popular-Science

Long gone are the days of dead batteries, dull blades, and desperate trips to the barber.

From Popular-Science

But the man appears so weary that I decide to skip the dull stuff and get to the heat.

From The Daily Beast

The work at Art Basel is often interesting, often dull, and disproportionately decorative in nature.

From The Daily Beast

His course managed to be both dreadfully dull and appallingly difficult, with few light moments.

From The Daily Beast

I was quoted in The New York Times saying, ‘We dared to be dull’.

From The Daily Beast

According to Mack, he nearly killed her, broke 18 of her bones and, “sawed much of my hair off with [a] dull knife.”

From The Daily Beast

The policemen looked dull and heavy, as if never again would any one be criminal, and as if they had come to know it.

From Project Gutenberg

Drone: the largest tube of a bag-pipe, giving forth a dull heavy tone.

From Project Gutenberg

It'll be beastly dull for her at The Warren, you see, poor girl; and she doesn't seem to jump at Spunyarn, though he does hang on.

From Project Gutenberg

They are grayish or colorless, and have a dull waxy look, as if cut from paraffin (Figs. 43 and 61).

From Project Gutenberg

There was a distant, dull boom in the air—a repeated heavy thud.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cloudy
• cold
• dark
• dim
• dismal
• flat
• hazy
• lifeless
• muddy
• muted
• obscure
• soft
• somber
• subdued