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9 dictionary results for: dull

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

dull

[duhl] Pronunciation Key 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

]

—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.

—Antonyms 1. sharp, keen. 2. interesting. 7. bright.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

dull (dŭl) Pronunciation Key
adj. dull·er, dull·est

Intellectually weak or obtuse; stupid.
Lacking responsiveness or alertness; insensitive.
Dispirited; depressed.
Not brisk or rapid; sluggish: Business is dull.
Not having a sharp edge or point; blunt: a dull knife.
Not intensely or keenly felt: a dull ache.
Arousing no interest or curiosity; boring: a dull play.
Not bright or vivid. Used of a color: a dull brown.
Cloudy or overcast: a dull sky.
Not clear or resonant: a dull thud.

tr. & intr.v. dulled, dull·ing, dulls
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.
Antonym: lively

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

dull
adjective
1.	lacking in liveliness or animation; "he was so dull at parties"; "a dull political campaign"; "a large dull impassive man"; "dull days with nothing to do"; "how dull and dreary the world is"; "fell back into one of her dull moods" [ant: lively]
2.	emitting or reflecting very little light; "a dull glow"; "dull silver badly in need of a polish"; "a dull sky" [ant: bright]
3.	being or made softer or less loud or clear; "the dull boom of distant breaking waves"; "muffled drums"; "the muffled noises of the street"; "muted trumpets"
4.	so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness; "a boring evening with uninteresting people"; "the deadening effect of some routine tasks"; "a dull play"; "his competent but dull performance"; "a ho-hum speaker who couldn't capture their attention"; "what an irksome task the writing of long letters is"- Edmund Burke; "tedious days on the train"; "the tiresome chirping of a cricket"- Mark Twain; "other people's dreams are dreadfully wearisome" [syn: boring]
5.	(of color) very low in saturation; highly diluted; "dull greens and blues"
6.	not keenly felt; "a dull throbbing"; "dull pain" [ant: sharp]
7.	slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity; "so dense he never understands anything I say to him"; "never met anyone quite so dim"; "although dull at classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly quick"- Thackeray; "dumb officials make some really dumb decisions"; "he was either normally stupid or being deliberately obtuse"; "worked with the slow students" [syn: dense]
8.	(of business) not active or brisk; "business is dull (or slow)"; "a sluggish market"
9.	not having a sharp edge or point; "the knife was too dull to be of any use" [ant: sharp]
10.	blunted in responsiveness or sensibility; "a dull gaze"; "so exhausted she was dull to what went on about her"- Willa Cather
11.	not clear and resonant; sounding as if striking with or against something relatively soft; "the dull thud"; "thudding bullets"
12.	darkened with overcast; "a dark day"; "a dull sky"; "the sky was leaden and thick"
verb
1.	make dull in appearance; "Age had dulled the surface"
2.	become dull or lusterless in appearance; lose shine or brightness; "the varnished table top dulled with time"
3.	deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping [syn: muffle]
4.	make numb or insensitive; "The shock numbed her senses" [syn: numb]
5.	make dull or blunt; "Too much cutting dulls the knife's edge" [ant: sharpen]
6.	become less interesting or attractive [syn: pall]
7.	make less lively or vigorous; "Middle age dulled her appetite for travel"

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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

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 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.