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dull

[duhl]
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adjective, dull·er, dull·est.
  1. not sharp; blunt: a dull knife.
  2. causing boredom; tedious; uninteresting: a dull sermon.
  3. not lively or spirited; listless.
  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.
  8. lacking keenness of perception in the senses or feelings; insensible; unfeeling.
  9. not intense or acute: a dull pain.
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verb (used with or without object)
  1. to make or become dull.
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Origin of dull

1200–50; Middle English; akin to Old English dol foolish, stupid; cognate with German toll
Related formsdull·ness, dul·ness, noundul·ly, adverbun·dulled, adjective

Synonyms

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2. boring, tiresome, dreary, vapid. 3. apathetic, torpid, inactive, inert. 7. unimaginative, unintelligent, stolid. 10. blunt, deaden, benumb; depress, dishearten, discourage.

Synonym study

1. 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. 7. 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.

Antonyms

1. sharp, keen. 2. interesting. 7. bright.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

slowslackenebbwanedwindlerecedetapersubsidedecreasediminishdulllesseneaserelievereducetempersoothealleviatemollifyallay

Examples from the Web for dulling

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I should merely be dulling your appetite, without satisfying your hunger.

  • There is a pathetic reference in a letter to this dulling of his power of vision.

    Schopenhauer

    Margrieta Beer

  • A look of fright and joy came into Mrs. Vincent's dulling eyes.

    Margaret Vincent

    Sophia Lucy Clifford

  • And with it a damping of her ardor, and a dulling of the fine edge of her enthusiasm.

    Carmen Ariza

    Charles Francis Stocking

  • There came a louder clamor—volcanic, chaotic, dulling the thunders.

British Dictionary definitions for dulling

dull

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
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verb
  1. to make or become dull
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Derived Formsdullish, adjectivedullness or dulness, noundully, adverb

Word Origin

Old English dol; related to Old Norse dul conceit, Old High German tol foolish, Greek tholeros confused
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dulling

dull

adj.

c.1200, "stupid;" early 13c., "blunt, not sharp;" rare before mid-14c., apparently from Old English dol "dull-witted, foolish," or an unrecorded parallel word, or from Middle Low German dul "slow-witted," both from Proto-Germanic *dulaz (cf. Old Frisian and Old Saxon dol "foolish," Old High German tol, German toll "mad, wild," Gothic dwals "foolish"), from PIE *dheu- (1) "dust, vapor, smoke" (and related notions of "defective perception or wits"). Of color from early 15c.; of pain or other sensations from 1725. Sense of "boring" first recorded 1580s.

dull. (8) Not exhilarating; not delightful; as to make dictionaries is dull work. [Johnson]

Dullsville, slang for "town where nothing happens," attested from 1960.

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dull

v.

c.1200, "to grow weary, tire;" of pointed or edged things from c.1400; of the senses from 1550s; from dull (adj.). Related: Dulled; dulling.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
dulling in Medicine

dull

(dŭl)
adj.
  1. Lacking responsiveness or alertness; insensitive.
  2. Not intensely or keenly felt, as in pain.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Idioms and Phrases with dulling

dull

In addition to the idiom beginning with dull

  • dull as dishwater

also see:

  • never a dull moment
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.