leaden
inertly heavy like lead; hard to lift or move: a leaden weight; leaden feet.
dull, spiritless, or gloomy, as in mood or thought: leaden prose; a leaden atmosphere.
of a dull gray color: leaden skies.
oppressive; heavy: a leaden silence.
sluggish; listless: They moved at a leaden pace.
of poor quality or little value.
made or consisting of lead.
to make leaden, sluggish, dull, etc.: Fatigue had leadened his brain and step.
Origin of leaden
1Other words from leaden
- lead·en·ly, adverb
- lead·en·ness, noun
Words Nearby leaden
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use leaden in a sentence
John is an inmate in a psychiatric ward courtesy of past crimes that are only briefly mentioned and, via additional leaden conversations, it’s revealed that he still has Dream’s ruby.
Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’ Is One Terribly Boring Fantasy Series | Nick Schager | August 5, 2022 | The Daily BeastHe was lying on his back, his eyes closed and with a leaden gray look on his face.
He was close by for three presidential assassinations. Including his dad’s. | Gillian Brockell | December 19, 2021 | Washington PostBOSTON — At least two members of the Washington Wizards came out of a leaden performance against the Boston Celtics in their first game of the NBA’s new play-in tournament feeling optimistic.
The Wizards remain confident, and their recent history against the Pacers should only help | Ava Wallace | May 20, 2021 | Washington PostTechnically, White should seem out of step with our current pop-centric culture: leaden, irrelevant, dinosauric.
That there was a way to tell the story and not have been leaden—not be a chore or an ordeal.
Steve Coogan Makes His Bid For Some Serious, Dramatic Roles | Andrew Romano | November 29, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The Romney-Ryan Medicare proposal is stunningly unpopular—and Romney left the debate firmly lashed to its leaden weight.
Soldiers called out, and they gave two unfortunates leaden food enough to kill them.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter ShowellSeveral tons of leaden pipe were dug up in Fleet street, London, laid down 300 years before.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellThe wind-blown rain-makers lost their leaden hue and became a soft pearl-gray, all fleecy white around the edges.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairThickets were swept as with a great jagged scythe by the leaden hail which swept through them.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. DunnFor the rest, the “Dolphin” is a singularly dull and unromantic-looking house, painted a leaden hue.
The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries | Charles G. Harper
British Dictionary definitions for leaden
/ (ˈlɛdən) /
heavy and inert
laboured or sluggish: leaden steps
gloomy, spiritless, or lifeless
made partly or wholly of lead
of a dull greyish colour: a leaden sky
Derived forms of leaden
- leadenly, adverb
- leadenness, noun
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
Browse