bored

American  

[bawrd] / bɔrd /

adjective

1. wearied by dullness or sameness (often followed by with, of, orby ).

   This activity will keep bored children entertained on those long summer days.

   She's bored with the color of her room and has decided to paint it.

   I never seem to get bored of this game.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of bore.

Etymology

Origin of bored

First recorded in 1820–30; bore ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective; bore ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb

Explanation

When you are bored, nothing is engaging you. If you're on a long flight, you forgot your book, and there's no movie, you might become bored. The adjective bored comes from boredom, the state of being where nothing is interesting or exciting. If you only understand English, you'll probably get bored quickly listening to German talk radio. It's hard not to be bored by a six hour bus ride on a featureless interstate highway. If you are deeply, spiritually bored by the world, you are suffering from ennui — that's boredom in French!

Example Sentences

“And voters just go, ‘You’re just doing this for sport.’ … because they’re bored and they have big egos and they want something to do.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

The Covid swoon broke a record for the speed of its recovery and coincided with millions of bored young people opening brokerage accounts.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

However, he adds they later became a victim of their own success, with so many characters around that people became bored of them.

From BBC • May 13, 2026

So what’s a bored, frustrated president to do?

From Salon • May 12, 2026

Most kids, by then, are bored with summer and itchy from mosquito bites and poison ivy and nothing to do.

From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson

Related Words

• disinterested
• fatigued
• tired