Definitions for dull
dʌldull

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.5 / 4 votes

1. dulladjective

   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"

2. dulladjective

   emitting or reflecting very little light

   "a dull glow"; "dull silver badly in need of a polish"; "a dull sky"

3. dull, muffled, muted, softenedadjective

   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. boring, deadening, dull, ho-hum, irksome, slow, tedious, tiresome, wearisomeadjective

   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"

5. dulladjective

   (of color) very low in saturation; highly diluted

   "dull greens and blues"

6. dulladjective

   not keenly felt

   "a dull throbbing"; "dull pain"

7. dense, dim, dull, dumb, obtuse, slowadjective

   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"

8. dull, slow, sluggishadjective

   (of business) not active or brisk

   "business is dull (or slow)"; "a sluggish market"

9. dulladjective

   not having a sharp edge or point

   "the knife was too dull to be of any use"

10. dulladjective

    blunted in responsiveness or sensibility

    "a dull gaze"; "so exhausted she was dull to what went on about her"- Willa Cather

11. dull, thuddingadjective

    not clear and resonant; sounding as if striking with or against something relatively soft

    "the dull thud"; "thudding bullets"

12. dull, leadenverb

    darkened with overcast

    "a dark day"; "a dull sky"; "the sky was leaden and thick"

13. dullverb

    make dull in appearance

    "Age had dulled the surface"

14. dullverb

    become dull or lusterless in appearance; lose shine or brightness

    "the varnished table top dulled with time"

15. muffle, mute, dull, damp, dampen, tone downverb

    deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping

16. numb, benumb, blunt, dullverb

    make numb or insensitive

    "The shock numbed her senses"

17. dull, bluntverb

    make dull or blunt

    "Too much cutting dulls the knife's edge"

18. pall, dullverb

    become less interesting or attractive

19. dullverb

    make less lively or vigorous

    "Middle age dulled her appetite for travel"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. dullverb

   To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp.

   Years of misuse have dulled the tools.

2. dullverb

   To soften, moderate or blunt.

   He drinks to dull the pain.

3. dullverb

   To lose a sharp edge; to become dull.

   A razor will dull with use.

4. dulladjective

   Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp.

   All these knives are dull.

5. dulladjective

   Boring; not exciting or interesting.

6. dulladjective

   Not shiny; having a matte finish or no particular luster.

   Choose a dull finish to hide fingerprints.

7. dulladjective

   Not bright or intelligent; stupid; slow of understanding.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. DULLadjective

   Etymology: dwl, Welsh; dole, Saxon; dol, mad, Dutch.

   1. Stupid; doltish; blockish; unapprehensive; indocile; slow of understanding.

   Such is their evil hap to play upon dull spirited men. Richard Hooker.

   He that hath learned no wit by nature, nor art, may complain of gross breeding, or comes of a very dull kindred. William Shakespeare.

   Sometimes this perception, in some kind of bodies, is far more subtile than the sense; so that the sense is but a dull thing in comparison of it. Francis Bacon, Natural History.

   Every man, even the dullest, is thinking more than the most eloquent can teach him how to utter. Dryden.

   2. Blunt; obtuse.

   Meeting with time, Slack thing, said I,
   Thy scythe is dull; whet it, for shame. George Herbert.

   3. Unready; aukward.

   Gynecia a great while stood still, with a kind of dull amazement looking stedfastly upon her. Philip Sidney.

   O help thou my weak wit, and sharpen my dull tongue. Fairy Queen, b. i. stanz. 2.

   Memory is so necessary to all conditions of life, that we are not to fear it should grow dull for want of exercise, if exercise would make it stronger. John Locke.

   4. Hebetated; not quick.

   This people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing. Math. xiii. 15.

   5. Sad; melancholy.6. Sluggishly; heavy; slow of motion.

   Thenceforth the waters waxed dull and slow,
   And all that drunk thereof did faint and feeble grow. F. Q.

   7. Gross; cloggy; vile.

   She excels each mortal thing
   Upon the dull earth dwelling. William Shakespeare, Two Gent. of Verona.

   8. Not exhilaterating; not delightful; as, to make dictionaries is dull work.9. Not bright; as, the mirror is dull, the fire is dull.

   I’ll not be made a soft and dull ey’d fool,
   To shake the head, relent, and sigh, and yield
   To Christian intercessors. William Shakespeare, Merch. of Venice.

   10. Drowsy; sleepy.

2. To Dullverb

   Etymology: from the adjective.

   1. To stupify; to infatuate

   Nothing hath more dulled the wits, or taken away the will of children from learning, than care in making of Latin. Roger Ascham.

   Those drugs she has
   Will stupify and dull the sense awhile. William Shakespeare, Cymbeline.

   2. To blunt; to obtund.

   This entrance of the battle did whet the courage of the Spaniards, though it dulled their swords. Francis Bacon.

   3. To sadden; to make melancholy.4. To hebetate; to weaken.

   Now forc’d to overflow with brackish tears,
   The troublous noise did dull their dainty ears. Edmund Spenser.

   5. To damp; to clog.

   Prayers were short, as if darts thrown out with a sudden quickness, lest that vigilant and erect attention of mind, which in prayer is very necessary, should be wasted or dulled through continuance. Richard Hooker, b. v. s. 33.

   In bodies, union strengtheneth and cherisheth any natural action; and, on the other side, weakeneth and dulleth any violent impression, and even so is it of minds. Francis Bacon, Essays.

   6. To make weary, or slow of motion.7. To sully brightness.

   The breath dulls the mirrour. Francis Bacon.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. dull

   Dull generally refers to something that lacks brightness, vibrancy, sharpness or liveliness. It could be used to describe a surface, edge or point that is not sharp, a color or light that is not bright or intense, a sound that is not clear or resonant, a person or thing that is not engaging or interesting, or an activity that is boring or uneventful.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:4.5 / 2 votes

1. Dull

   slow of understanding; wanting readiness of apprehension; stupid; doltish; blockish

2. Dull

   slow in action; sluggish; unready; awkward

3. Dull

   insensible; unfeeling

4. Dull

   not keen in edge or point; lacking sharpness; blunt

5. Dull

   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. Dull

   heavy; gross; cloggy; insensible; spiritless; lifeless; inert

7. Dull

   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

8. Dullverb

   to deprive of sharpness of edge or point

9. Dullverb

   to make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy, as the senses, the feelings, the perceptions, and the like

10. Dullverb

    to render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish

11. Dullverb

    to deprive of liveliness or activity; to render heavy; to make inert; to depress; to weary; to sadden

12. Dullverb

    to become dull or stupid

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Dull

   Dull is a village located in the county of Perth & Kinross in Scotland. Situated in the Highland part of the county, Dull consists of a single street of houses on the north side of the valley of the River Tay. The place-name may mean 'meadow' in Gaelic. However, Duncan Campbell relates a traditional tale in "The Lairds of Glenlyon" which connects the Gaelic word 'dul' with the withies on the hearse of St Adomnán snapping, thus deciding his burial-place and the founding of Dull. The parish church, unused since the 1970s, is on the site of an early Christian monastery founded by St Adomnán, Abbot of Iona. Several early Christian cross-slabs dating to the 7th or 8th century have been discovered in and around the parish graveyard. A slab carved with stylised warriors and horsemen in the Pictish style, uncovered during grave-digging in the 19th century, is displayed in the Museum of Scotland, and may have formed part of a wall-relief, or one side of a box-shrine. A massive font of rough workmanship, preserved by the church door, is also a probable relic from the early monastic site. The surrounding district was known as the Appin of Dull, the name 'Appin' deriving from Old Irish apdaine, 'abbacy', referring to the former monastic estate. Compare Appin in Argyll, the 'abbey lands' in that case being those of the major early Christian monastery of Lismore. Four undecorated crosses, of which three survive, one at Dull itself, and two in the nearby old church at Weem, once stood around the monastic precinct, defining an area of sanctuary.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Dull

   dul, adj. slow of hearing, of learning, or of understanding: insensible: without life or spirit: slow of motion: drowsy: sleepy: sad: downcast: cheerless: not bright or clear: cloudy: dim, obscure: obtuse: blunt.—v.t. to make dull or stupid: to blunt: to damp: to cloud.—v.i. to become dull.—n. Dull′ard, a dull and stupid person: a dunce.—adjs. Dull′-brained (Shak.), of dull brain or intellect: stupid; Dull′-browed, of gloomy brow or look; Dull′-eyed (Shak.), having eyes dull or wanting expression; Dull′ish, somewhat dull: wearisome.—ns. Dull′ness, Dul′ness, the stale or quality of being dull.—adjs. Dull′-sight′ed; Dull′-wit′ted; Dull′y, somewhat dull.—adv. Dull′y. [A.S. dol—dwelan, to err; Dut. dol, Ger. toll, mad.]

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. DULL

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Dull is ranked #6961 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Dull surname appeared 4,818 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 would have the surname Dull.
   
   93.3% or 4,495 total occurrences were White.
   1.8% or 89 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   1.8% or 88 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
   1.2% or 60 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   1% or 48 total occurrences were Asian.
   0.7% or 38 total occurrences were Black.

Matched Categories

1. • Business
   • Change
   • Desensitize
   • Soften
   • Weaken

British National Corpus

1. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'dull' in Adjectives Frequency: #649

How to pronounce dull?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say dull in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of dull in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of dull in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of dull in a Sentence

1. J. D. Watson, "The Double Helix":

   One could not be a successful scientist without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers and mothers of scientists, a goodly number of scientists are not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.

2. W. Somerset Maugham:

   Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it.

3. Bob Conklin:

   If human beings are perceived as potentials rather than problems, as possessing strengths instead of weaknesses, as unlimited rather that dull and unresponsive, then they thrive and grow to their capabilities.

4. Mark Gooley:

   After several minutes of utterly dull conversation I began to think of her not as a woman but as a human, then not as a human but as an animal, then not as an animal but as a source of high-grade protein.

5. Edna Ferber:

   Living in the past is a dull and lonely business looking back strains the neck muscles, causes you to bump into people not going your way.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=dull
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Dull
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=dull
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dull
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=dull
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=dull
8. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
   https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html