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dull - 9 dictionary results
dull
[duhl] 
adjective, -er, -est, verb –adjective
| 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. |
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
| 10. | to make or become dull. |
Origin:
1200–50; ME; akin to OE dol foolish, stupid; c. G toll
1200–50; ME; akin to OE dol foolish, stupid; c. G toll
Related forms:
dullness, dulness, noun
dully, adverb
Synonyms:
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. 2. boring, tiresome, dreary, vapid. 3. apathetic, torpid, inactive, inert. 7. unimaginative, unintelligent, stolid. Dull, blunted, slow, stupid are applied to mental qualities. Dull implies obtuseness, lack of imagination: a dull child. Blunted implies loss of original keenness of intelligence through disease, sad experience, or the like: blunted faculties. 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. 10. blunt, deaden, benumb; depress, dishearten, discourage.
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. 2. boring, tiresome, dreary, vapid. 3. apathetic, torpid, inactive, inert. 7. unimaginative, unintelligent, stolid. Dull, blunted, slow, stupid are applied to mental qualities. Dull implies obtuseness, lack of imagination: a dull child. Blunted implies loss of original keenness of intelligence through disease, sad experience, or the like: blunted faculties. 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. 10. blunt, deaden, benumb; depress, dishearten, discourage.
Antonyms:
1. sharp, keen. 2. interesting. 7. bright.
1. sharp, keen. 2. interesting. 7. bright.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To dull
| dull (dŭl) adj. dull·er, dull·est
To make or become dull. [Middle English dul; akin to Old English dol.] dull'ish adj., dull'ness, dul'ness n., dul'ly adv. Synonyms: These adjectives mean lacking in liveliness, charm, or surprise: a dull, uninteresting performance; a colorless and unimaginative person; a drab and boring job; a humdrum conversation; a lackluster life; a pedestrian movie plot; a stodgy dinner party; an uninspired lecture. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Dull
Dull\, a. [Compar. Duller; superl. Dullest.] [AS. dol foolish; akin to gedwelan to err, D. dol mad, dwalen to wander, err, G. toll mad, Goth. dwals foolish, stupid, cf. Gr. ? turbid, troubled, Skr. dhvr to cause to fall. Cf. Dolt, Dwale, Dwell, Fraud.]1. Slow of understanding; wanting readiness of apprehension; stupid; doltish; blockish. "Dull at classical learning." --Thackeray. She is not bred so dull but she can learn. --Shak. 2. Slow in action; sluggish; unready; awkward. This people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing. --Matt. xiii. 15. O, help my weak wit and sharpen my dull tongue. --Spenser. 3. Insensible; unfeeling. Think me not So dull a devil to forget the loss Of such a matchless wife. -- Beau. & Fl. 4. Not keen in edge or point; lacking sharpness; blunt. "Thy scythe is dull." --Herbert. 5. Not bright or clear to the eye; wanting in liveliness of color or luster; not vivid; obscure; dim; as, a dull fire or lamp; a dull red or yellow; a dull mirror. 6. Heavy; gross; cloggy; insensible; spiritless; lifeless; inert. "The dull earth." --Shak. As turning the logs will make a dull fire burn, so changes of study a dull brain. -- Longfellow. 7. Furnishing little delight, spirit, or variety; uninteresting; tedious; cheerless; gloomy; melancholy; depressing; as, a dull story or sermon; a dull occupation or period; hence, cloudy; overcast; as, a dull day. Along life's dullest, dreariest walk. -- Keble. Syn: Lifeless; inanimate; dead; stupid; doltish; heavy; sluggish; sleepy; drowsy; gross; cheerless; tedious; irksome; dismal; dreary; clouded; tarnished; obtuse. See Lifeless.Dull
Dull\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Duller; p. pr. & vb. n. Dulling.]1. To deprive of sharpness of edge or point. "This . . . dulled their swords." --Bacon. Borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. --Shak. 2. To make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy, as the senses, the feelings, the perceptions, and the like. Those [drugs] she has Will stupefy and dull the sense a while. --Shak. Use and custom have so dulled our eyes. --Trench. 3. To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish. "Dulls the mirror." --Bacon. 4. To deprive of liveliness or activity; to render heavy; to make inert; to depress; to weary; to sadden. Attention of mind . . . wasted or dulled through continuance. --Hooker.Dull
Dull\, v. i. To become dull or stupid. --Rom. of R.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : dull
Spanish:
lento, torpe, tonto,
German:
schwer von Begriff,
Japanese:
鈍い
dull
M.E., but rare before 1350, apparently from O.E. dol "dull-witted, foolish," or from M.L.G. dul "slow-witted," both from P.Gmc. *dulaz. Of color from c.1430; of pain or other sensations from 1725. Sense of "boring" first recorded 1590. Dullard first appears 1225 as a surname. Dullsville, slang for "town where nothing happens." attested from 1960.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: dull
Pronunciation: 'd&l
Function: adjective
1 : mentally slow or stupid
2 : slow in perception or sensibility
3 : lacking sharpness of edge or point dull scalpel>
4 : lacking in force, intensity, or acuteness dull pain> —dull verb —dull·ness or dul·ness /'d&l-n&s/ noun —dul·ly /'d&l-E/ adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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dull (dŭl)
adj. dull·er, dull·est
- Lacking responsiveness or alertness; insensitive.
- Not intensely or keenly felt, as in pain.
dull'ness n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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dull
In addition to the idiom beginning with dull, also see never a dull moment.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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