dull

(dŭl)
adj., dull·er, dull·est.

1. Intellectually weak or obtuse; stupid.
2. Lacking responsiveness or alertness; insensitive.
3. Dispirited; depressed.
4. Not brisk or rapid; sluggish: Business is dull.
5. Not having a sharp edge or point; blunt: a dull knife.
6. Not intensely or keenly felt: a dull ache.
7. Arousing no interest or curiosity; boring: a dull play.
8. Not bright or vivid. Used of a color: a dull brown.
9. Cloudy or overcast: a dull sky.
10. 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.]

dullish dull'ish adj.
dullness dull'ness or dul'ness n.
dully dul'ly adv.

SYNONYMS   dull, colorless, drab, humdrum, lackluster, pedestrian, stodgy, uninspired. 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

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adjective

1. Having only a limited ability to learn and understand: backward, simple, simple-minded, slow, slow-witted. Informal soft. Offensive feeble-minded, half-witted, retarded, weak-minded. See ability/inability.
2. Lacking responsiveness or alertness: benumbed, insensible, insensitive, numb, stuporous, torpid, unresponsive, wooden. See awareness/unawareness.
3. Unwilling or unable to perceive: blind, purblind, uncomprehending, unperceptive. See see/not see.
4. Lacking passion and emotion: anesthetic, bloodless, insensate, insensible, insensitive. See attitude/good attitude/bad attitude/neutral attitude, feelings.
5. In low spirits: blue, dejected, depressed, desolate, dispirited, down, downcast, downhearted, dysphoric, gloomy, heavy-hearted, low, melancholic, melancholy, sad, spiritless, tristful, unhappy, wistful. Idioms: downatinthe mouth. See happy/unhappy.
6. Characterized by reduced economic activity: down, off, slack, slow, sluggish, soft. See increase/decrease.
7. Not physically sharp or keen: blunt. See sharp/dull.
8. Arousing no interest or curiosity: boring, drear, dreary, dry, humdrum, irksome, monotonous, stuffy, tedious, tiresome, uninteresting, weariful, wearisome, weary. See excite/bore/interest.
9. Lacking liveliness, charm, or surprise: arid, aseptic, colorless, drab, dry, earthbound, flat, flavorless, lackluster, lifeless, lusterless, matter-of-fact, pedestrian, prosaic, spiritless, sterile, stodgy, unimaginative, uninspired. See excite/bore/interest.
10. Lacking vividness in color: dim, drab, flat, muddy, murky. See colors/colorless.
11. Lacking gloss and luster: dim, flat, lackluster, lusterless, mat. See light/darkness.

verb

1. To make or become less keen or responsive: dim, hebetate, stupefy. See awareness/unawareness.
2. To render less sensitive: benumb, blunt, deaden, desensitize, numb. Idioms: take the edge off. See awareness/unawareness.
3. To make or become less sharp-edged: blunt, turn. Idioms: take the edge off. See sharp/dull.
4. To make dim or indistinct: becloud, bedim, befog, blear, blur, cloud, dim, eclipse, fog, gloom, mist, obfuscate, obscure, overcast, overshadow, shadow. See clear/unclear.

Idioms beginning with dull:
dull as dishwater

In addition to the idiom beginning with dull, also see never a dull moment.

adj

Definition: boring, uninteresting
Antonyms: active, exciting, interesting, lively

adj

Definition: drab, lackluster in effect on senses
Antonyms: bright, clear, light, luminous, lustrous

adj

Definition: insensitive
Antonyms: lively, quick, sensitive, vivacious

adj

Definition: not sharp
Antonyms: knifelike, pointed, serrated, sharp

adj

Definition: uneventful
Antonyms: active, eventful, exciting, interesting, lively

adj

Definition: unintelligent
Antonyms: intelligent, keen, sharp, smart, witty

IN BRIEF: adv. - Without liveliness; Without luster or shine.

Tutor's tip: Even though she was "duly" (in a proper manner) promoted to department manager, her head throbbed "dully" (not intense or acute) from stress.

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1. a quality of sound elicited by percussion, being short and high-pitched with little resonance.
2. a state of consciousness in which the animal's movements are sluggish and its response to external stimuli is one of indifference.

• cardiac d. — the area of the precordium over which a dull percussion sound is elicited.

For a list of words related to dulled, see:

• Inert, Lazy, Tired, or Insensate

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See words rhyming with "dullish."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Dull.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - tungnem, kedelig, overskyet, dyster, sløv, trist, dump, ligegyldig
v. tr. - gøre kedelig
v. intr. - blive kedelig

Nederlands (Dutch)
saai, mat, bot, dom, dof, afstompen, dom maken, stomp worden, vervlakken, dof worden/ maken

Français (French)
adj. - faible (vue, ouïe), borné, obtus (esprit), (École) peu doué, dépourvu d'intérêt (livre, conférence), terne (style), insignifiant (personne), sans éclat (couleur, lumière), étouffé, sourd (bruit), couvert, gris, sombre, maussade (ciel, temps), émoussé (lame), calme (marché boursier), (Comm) lent, languissant, stagnant, las (lasse) d'esprit, déprimé, atone (regard)
v. tr. - assourdir, ternir (métal, couleur), atténuer (douleur, ressentiment), engourdir (esprit, sens), émousser (épée, bord)
v. intr. - s'émousser, s'engourdir, s'alourdir, s'atténuer, s'amortir, s'assourdir, se ternir

Deutsch (German)
v. - abstumpfen, glanzlos werden, glanzlos machen, betäuben
adj. - glanzlos, trübe, stumpf, dumm, langweilig, schwunglos

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - εξασθενίζω, ξεθωριάζω, σκοτεινιάζω, αμβλύνω
adj. - αμβλύς, κουτός, βραδύνους, ανιαρός, θαμπός, βαρύς, σκοτεινός, υπόκωφος

Italiano (Italian)
istupidire, appannarsi, intontire, opaco, nuvoloso, smussato, tonto, monotono, senza energia, velato

Português (Portuguese)
v. - tranqüilizar
adj. - monótono

Русский (Russian)
затуплять, тускнеть, скучный, тусклый, тупой, вялый

Español (Spanish)
adj. - mate, apagado, empañado, gris, desapacible, embotado, estúpido, necio, aburrido, insípido, insulso, monótono, sin vida, sin relieve, pálido
v. tr. - embotar, entorpecer, deslustrar, empañar, aturdir, pasmar
v. intr. - embotar, entorpecer, deslustrar, empañar, aturdir, pasmar

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - förslöa
adj. - matt, tråkig, långsam, okänslig, dyster

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
钝的, 呆滞的, 无趣的, 使迟钝, 缓和, 使阴暗, 变迟钝, 减少

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 鈍的, 呆滯的, 無趣的
v. tr. - 使遲鈍, 緩和, 使陰暗
v. intr. - 變遲鈍, 減少

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 흐린, 어리석은, 둔감한
v. tr. - ~을 둔하게 하다
v. intr. - 둔해지다

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 鈍い, 鈍感な, 鈍く感ずる, さえない, どんよりした, なまくらの, だれた, 活気がない, 退屈な
v. - 鈍くする, 和らげる, 鈍る

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يجعله غبيا أو بليدا (صفه) غبي, بليد, كسول, قليل النشاط التجاري, باهت‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮משעמם, טיפש, קשה-הבנה, קודר, קהה, עמום, לא-ברור, חסר-חיים, איטי, חלש‬
v. tr. - ‮עמעם, הקהה‬
v. intr. - ‮קהה, התעמעם‬

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