dull

[ duhl ]

/ dʌl /

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See synonyms for: dull / dulled / duller / dulling on Thesaurus.com

adjective, dull·er, dull·est.

not sharp; blunt: a dull knife.

causing boredom; tedious; uninteresting: a dull sermon.

not lively or spirited; listless.

not bright, intense, or clear; dim: a dull day; a dull sound.

having very little depth of color; lacking in richness or intensity of color.

slow in motion or action; not brisk; sluggish: a dull day in the stock market.

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

lacking keenness of perception in the senses or feelings; insensible; unfeeling.

not intense or acute: a dull pain.

verb (used with or without object)

to make or become dull.

OTHER WORDS FOR dull

2 boring, tiresome, dreary, vapid.

3 apathetic, torpid, inactive, inert.

7 unimaginative, unintelligent, stolid.

10 blunt, deaden, benumb; depress, dishearten, discourage.

See synonyms for dull on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR dull

1 sharp, keen.

2 interesting.

7 bright.

See antonyms for dull on Thesaurus.com

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of dull

1200–50; Middle English; akin to Old English dol foolish, stupid; cognate with German toll

synonym study for dull

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM dull

dullness, dulness, noundully, adverbun·dulled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dull in a sentence

It’s possible to do things that are dull and just take up too much time.
Stephen King on how to properly adapt his books and which project went ‘entirely off the rails’|Travis Andrews|October 30, 2020|Washington Post
Now it just sort of feels like a dull and expected subtext to, well, everything in our lives.
With ‘Roadkill,’ PBS invites you to watch a narcissist politician who gets away with everything. How does that grab you?|Hank Stuever|October 30, 2020|Washington Post
That feeling only escalates as you navigate a confusing, and so-far dull, main story line.
‘Watch Dogs: Legion’ review in progress: Virtual London is legit, but story’s a snooze so far|Gene Park|October 28, 2020|Washington Post
He even took on a process often dismissed as the dullest thing imaginable in his essay “Watching Paint Dry,” written for a Harvard undergraduate journal.
A Scientist Who Delights in the Mundane|Steve Nadis|October 26, 2020|Quanta Magazine

As more chips accumulate, the edge can quickly dull, especially if the microscopic structure of the steel is not uniform.
Toward better blades|Tate Ryan-Mosley|October 20, 2020|MIT Technology Review
It is a potential firelighter of vanity, self-pity and logorrhoeic dullness.
Hatchet Job of the Year 2014 Shortlist Announced|The Telegraph|January 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For the past forty years critic James Wolcott has been a cerebral antidote to the dullness contaminating our cultural pages.
The Obligation to be Interesting: James Wolcott’s “Critical Mass”|William Giraldi|October 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Once you're out of breath, you might be within earshot of what that phrase conjures up in the United Kingdom: dullness.
Unconsidered Trifles: Found Comedy in the Age of Social Media|Tom Doran|March 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Still, TV-show creators can appreciate the dullness in overthinking sex when the moment strikes—particularly after a certain age.
Television’s 20-Something Female Virgins: ‘Girls,’ ‘Grey’s,’ and ‘Underemployed’|Whitney Friedlander|November 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Luckily for him, this is Washington, where dullness can be prized if it is effective.
Is Our Top Cop Keeping Us Safer?|Tara McKelvey|September 12, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The dullness of that time has gone, and the roads are tolerably travelled to-day.
The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries|Charles G. Harper
The person whose mind is satisfied by the parlour dullness of that nightly foolery only becomes animated when he is indecent.
The Chequers|James Runciman
It not only rewards dullness as if it were positive virtue, but sets an enormous premium upon hypocrisy.
The New Machiavelli|Herbert George Wells
The ax was not sharp no army ax ever was, but Si's and Shorty's muscles were vigorous enough to make up for its dullness.
Si Klegg, Book 2 (of 6)|John McElroy
Alone in her chamber, the dullness of her mind diminished and finally cleared away like a fog in a wind.
The Adventures of Kathlyn|Harold MacGrath

British Dictionary definitions for dull

dull

/ (dʌl) /

adjective

slow to think or understand; stupid

lacking in interest

lacking in perception or the ability to respond; insensitive

lacking sharpness; blunt

not acute, intense, or piercing

(of weather) not bright or clear; cloudy

not active, busy, or brisk

lacking in spirit or animation; listless

(of colour) lacking brilliance or brightness; sombre

not loud or clear; muffled

med (of sound elicited by percussion, esp of the chest) not resonant

verb

to make or become dull

Derived forms of dull

dullish, adjectivedullness or dulness, noundully, adverb

Word Origin for dull

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with dull

dull

In addition to the idiom beginning with dull

dull as dishwater

also see:

never a dull moment

dull

OTHER WORDS FOR dull

OPPOSITES FOR dull

Origin of dull

synonym study for dull

OTHER WORDS FROM dull

Words related to dull

How to use dull in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dull

Derived forms of dull

Word Origin for dull

Other Idioms and Phrases with dull