lull

[ luhl ]

/ lʌl /

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See synonyms for: lull / lulled / lulling on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to put to sleep or rest by soothing means: to lull a child by singing.

to soothe or quiet.

to give or lead to feel a false sense of safety; cause to be less alert, aware, or watchful.

verb (used without object)

to quiet down, let up, or subside: furious activity that finally lulled.

noun

a temporary calm, quiet, or stillness: a lull in a storm.

a soothing sound: the lull of falling waters.

a pacified or stupefied condition: The drug had put him in a lull.

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Origin of lull

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English lullen, of expressive origin; compare Swedish lulla, German lullen, Latin lallāre “to sing a lullaby”

OTHER WORDS FROM lull

luller, nounlull·ing·ly, adverb

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

How to use lull in a sentence

After a lull in the action tonight, we could see a part two of the storm Monday into Tuesday with additional accumulation, but that remains a trickier part of the forecast.
Let it snow! A few inches likely to accumulate today; more tomorrow into Tuesday?|Brian Jackson, Dan Stillman|January 31, 2021|Washington Post
A friend of Smedler and James’s, who is a faculty member at a local nursing school, called James on Friday and said to come over right away to get a shot of her own because there was a lull in vaccinating the students.
Most Americans say the coronavirus pandemic is not controlled, Post-ABC poll finds|Amy Goldstein, Emily Guskin|January 20, 2021|Washington Post
The shopkeeper and his wife, drawn two ways by pity and self-interest, began by lulling their consciences with words.
An Episode Under the Terror|Honore de Balzac
Here he would watch "the beautiful calm-lulling lake, the beautiful, solemn, hopeful-death-teaching sunsets."
The Life of Mazzini|Bolton King

His discourse was also full of extravagant compliments, I suppose for the purpose of lulling me to sleep.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXVIII. February, 1843. Vol. LIII.|Various
The morning which followed was that of a warm, lulling, luxuriant June day, whose high tides of life spread to everything.
The Quality of Mercy|W. D. Howells
Then ensued a moment's breathless hush, even the cries of those in agony lulling.
Richard Carvel, Complete|Winston Churchill

British Dictionary definitions for lull

lull

/ (lʌl) /

verb

to soothe (a person or animal) by soft sounds or motions (esp in the phrase lull to sleep)

to calm (someone or someone's fears, suspicions, etc), esp by deception

noun

a short period of calm or diminished activity

Derived forms of lull

lulling, adjective

Word Origin for lull

C14: possibly imitative of crooning sounds; related to Middle Low German lollen to soothe, Middle Dutch lollen to talk drowsily, mumble

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

lull

Origin of lull

OTHER WORDS FROM lull

Words related to lull

How to use lull in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lull

Derived forms of lull

Word Origin for lull