What are meanings of the word dull - Word и Excel - помощь в работе с программами

Adjective

the dull roar of the crowd

the dull knife just bounced off the skin of the tomato without cutting it

Verb

Fog dulled the morning sunlight.

Special earplugs dulled the sound of the chain saw.

His hair dulled as he aged.

The dog’s eyes dulled as he got sick.

She takes medicine to dull the pain.

Fear dulled his need for adventure.

The knife was dulled from use.

The blade should be replaced as soon as it dulls.

Recent Examples on the Web

There are plenty of people around the N.B.A. who dislike the turn the game has taken—who find the barrage of threes boring, dislike the way defenses have been denuded, and find dominance by the few a little dull.

—Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2023

Unlike any other repair on the mower, sharpening a dull blade will contribute directly to lawn health.

—Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 17 Mar. 2023

From the Great Recession of 2008, the rise of Big Tech, digital adoption and the pandemic (as well as the subsequent startup boom) to a challenging funding landscape, there has never been a dull moment.

—Abdullah Snobar, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2023

To say there was never a dull moment in the Kelce household would be an understatement, Donna joked on the Today show.

—Emily Weaver, Peoplemag, 8 Feb. 2023

Rakauskas battled a dull blade in the second period, getting an assist from senior captain Ace Concannon with a stone to sharpen the edge.

—Cam Kerry, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Feb. 2023

There’s never a dull moment for sure.

—Breanna Bell, Variety, 3 Feb. 2023

There’s rarely been a dull moment between the two brothers.

—Scott Springer, The Enquirer, 2 Feb. 2023

Also check for a dull or chipped mower blade.

—Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2023

What should have been a humorous concept — four friends touring the world in search of the ultimate party — was dulled via an incoherent, unceasing and unrehearsed script that even the participants seemed less than interested in presenting.

—al, 21 Feb. 2023

Freezing cheese may dull its flavor and create a grainy texture.

—Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 12 Dec. 2022

Don’t let anyone dull your sparkle.

—Katie Bowlby, Country Living, 19 May 2021

Reese’s friendships with other players haven’t dulled her competitive edge.

—Evan Easterling, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2023

Previous moves by the industry have been largely viewed as insufficient and haven’t dulled the controversy around the issue.

—Matthew Herper, STAT, 1 Mar. 2023

Overbleaching also dulls the teeth and removes their luster over time.

—Jasmine Washington, Seventeen, 22 Feb. 2023

Its high-shine finish doesn’t dull over time.

—Allure Editors, Allure, 13 Sep. 2022

And after all this time, even a pandemic couldn’t dull its luster.

—Harper’s Bazaar Staff, Harper’s BAZAAR, 1 Feb. 2023

See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘dull.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Источник

Other forms: dulled; dullest; duller; dulls; dulling

To dull something means to take away its edge, its energy, or its excitement. «Watching that movie will dull your senses, until you fall asleep.»

Let’s think of something interesting about dull. Hmm. It can be a verb or an adjective! So when you’re reading a dull or boring word description, for instance, it can dull or deaden your appetite for reading more word descriptions. That’s pretty fascinating, no? You can even use it for physical things, like a knife, which you can dull, that is, make it less sharp. You can even dull something visual, making it lacking in light, or use it describe pain — you know, the kind that is not sharp, just an ache. Exciting? No — dull.

Definitions of dull

adjective

so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness

“a
dull play”

“his competent but
dull performance”

synonyms:

boring, deadening, ho-hum, irksome, slow, tedious, tiresome, wearisome

uninteresting

arousing no interest or attention or curiosity or excitement
adjective

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”

Synonyms:

unanimated

not animated or enlivened; dull

colorless, colourless

lacking in variety and interest

arid, desiccate, desiccated

lacking vitality or spirit; lifeless

bovine

dull and slow-moving and stolid; like an ox

drab, dreary

lacking in liveliness or charm or surprise

heavy, leaden

lacking lightness or liveliness

humdrum, monotonous

tediously repetitious or lacking in variety

lackluster, lacklustre, lusterless, lustreless

lacking brilliance or vitality

spiritless

lacking ardor or vigor or energy

see moresee less

Antonyms:

lively

full of life and energy

alert, watchful

engaged in or accustomed to close observation

alive, animated

having life or vigor or spirit

alive

(often followed by `with’) full of life and spirit

bouncing, bouncy, peppy, spirited, zippy

marked by lively action

breezy

fresh and animated

bubbly

full of or showing high spirits

bubbling, effervescent, frothy, scintillating, sparkly

marked by high spirits or excitement

burbling, burbly, effusive, gushing

uttered with unrestrained enthusiasm

live

abounding with life and energy

warm

characterized by liveliness or excitement or disagreement

energetic

possessing or exerting or displaying energy

spirited

displaying animation, vigor, or liveliness

rested

not tired; refreshed as by sleeping or relaxing

show more antonyms…
adjective

blunted in responsiveness or sensibility

“a
dull gaze”

“»so exhausted she was
dull to what went on about her»- Willa Cather”

Synonyms:

insensitive

deficient in human sensibility; not mentally or morally sensitive
adjective

slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity

“»although
dull at classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly quick»- Thackeray”

synonyms:

dense, dim, dumb, obtuse, slow

stupid

lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
adjective

(of business) not active or brisk

“business is
dull (or slow)”

synonyms:

slow, sluggish

inactive

lacking activity; lying idle or unused
verb

become less interesting or attractive

synonyms:

pall

see moresee less

type of:

change

undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one’s or its original nature
verb

make less lively or vigorous

“Middle age
dulled her appetite for travel”
adjective

emitting or reflecting very little light

“a
dull glow”

“dull silver badly in need of a polish”

“a
dull sky”

Synonyms:

flat, mat, matt, matte, matted

not reflecting light; not glossy

lackluster, lacklustre, lusterless, lustreless

lacking luster or shine

soft, subdued

not brilliant or glaring

unpolished

not carefully reworked or perfected or made smooth by polishing

see moresee less

Antonyms:

bright

emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts

agleam, gleaming, nitid

bright with a steady but subdued shining

aglow, lambent, lucent, luminous

softly bright or radiant

aglitter, coruscant, fulgid, glinting, glistering, glittering, glittery, scintillant, scintillating, sparkly

having brief brilliant points or flashes of light

beadlike, beady, buttonlike, buttony

small and round and shiny like a shiny bead or button

beaming, beamy, effulgent, radiant, refulgent

radiating or as if radiating light

blazing, blinding, dazzling, fulgent, glaring, glary

shining intensely

bright as a new penny

(metaphor) shining brightly

brilliant

full of light; shining intensely

ardent

glowing or shining like fire

glimmery

shining softly and intermittently

glistening, glossy, lustrous, sheeny, shining, shiny

reflecting light

iridescent, nacreous, opalescent, opaline, pearlescent

having a play of lustrous rainbow colors

lurid

shining with an unnatural red glow as of fire seen through smoke

noctilucent

shining or glowing by night

satiny, silken, silklike, silky, sleek, slick

having a smooth, gleaming surface reflecting light

self-luminous

having in itself the property of emitting light

shimmery

glistening tremulously

silver, silvern, silvery

having the white lustrous sheen of silver

twinkling

shining intermittently with a sparkling light

show more antonyms…
adjective

darkened with overcast

“a
dull sky”

synonyms:

leaden

cloudy

full of or covered with clouds
adjective

(of color) very low in saturation; highly diluted

“dull greens and blues”

Synonyms:

unsaturated

(of color) not chromatically pure; diluted
verb

make dull in appearance

“Age had
dulled the surface”
verb

become dull or lusterless in appearance; lose shine or brightness

“the varnished table top
dulled with time”

see moresee less

type of:

change

undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one’s or its original nature
adjective

being or made softer or less loud or clear

“the
dull boom of distant breaking waves”

synonyms:

muffled, muted, softened

soft

(of sound) relatively low in volume
adjective

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

“the
dull thud”

synonyms:

thudding

nonresonant, unreverberant

not reverberant; lacking a tendency to reverberate
verb

deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping
adjective

not having a sharp edge or point

“the knife was too
dull to be of any use”

Synonyms:

blunt

used of a knife or other blade; not sharp

blunted, dulled

made dull or blunt

edgeless

lacking a cutting edge

unsharpened

not sharpened
“Too much cutting
dulls the knife’s edge”

synonyms:

blunt
adjective

not keenly felt

“a
dull throbbing”

“dull pain”

Synonyms:

deadened

made or become less intense
verb

make numb or insensitive

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Источник

Britannica Dictionary definition of DULL

not exciting or interesting

boring

a dull lecture/speaker
There’s never a dull moment in our house. [=our house is always very busy or exciting]

having an edge or point that is not sharp

a dull [=blunt] knife
a dull pencil

of a sound

not clear and loud

the dull roar of the crowd
He heard a dull [=muffled] thud.

of pain

constant but not sharp or severe

She complained of a dull ache/pain in her knee.

not shiny

The paint has a dull finish.
The dog had no appetite and its eyes were dull.

not sunny

having a lot of clouds

a dull winter sky

slightly grayish or dark

not bright

a dull light
The sky was a dull blue.

old-fashioned

stupid or slow in understanding something

a dull student

not having a lot of business or financial activity

a dull [=slow, sluggish] market

— dullness

noun

[noncount]

I couldn’t get past the dullness of the book’s topic.

He sat staring dully into the distance.

Britannica Dictionary definition of DULL

to become dull or to make (something) dull: such as

to become or cause (something) to become less clear, distinct, bright, or shiny

[+ object]

Fog dulled the morning sunlight.
Special earplugs dulled the sound of the chain saw.

[no object]

His hair dulled as he aged.
The dog’s eyes dulled as he got sick.

[+ object]

to make (something, such as a feeling) less sharp, strong, or severe

She takes medicine to dull the pain.
Fear dulled his need for adventure.
(formal) Her mind was dulled by the medication.

to become or cause (something, such as a knife or blade) to become less sharp

[+ object]

The knife was dulled from use.

[no object]

The blade should be replaced as soon as it dulls.

Источник

It has been called «the dull product of a scoffer’s pen»; it is indeed the «product of a scoffer’s pen»; but after reading the Excursion, few people will think it _dull_. ❋ William Hazlitt (1804)

«It is so what you call dull, Sir John,» she protested in her coquettish way. ❋ Unknown (1892)

«I don’t know what you call dull,» replied the old man, as if half offended at the suggestion. ❋ George MacDonald (1864)

Inventor Thomas Edison, who gave us the light bulb and other inventions 1,093 patents that ushered in the 20th century, was called dull by a grade school teacher who believed that Edison had no ability to learn. ❋ Bernard Starr (2011)

Noah says brilliant it puts alot of fun in dull things ❋ Unknown (2010)

The classic nonsensical one — with terrible one bedrooms in dull blocks like up past 8th Avenue, a block or two past the bus station — going for $900,000 is permanently dead in relative terms. ❋ Unknown (2010)

That which lies behind is but the crude world’s shadow in dull light; ❋ Unknown (2010)

October 13, 2009 at 12: 51 am. .and OMG how boring and dull is Lucie?! ❋ Unknown (2009)

RUIBAL: Radio silence successful in dull sprint-finish stage ❋ Unknown (2009)

He lay in dull despair, while she watched him searchingly, pondering again upon unsummoned and wayward thoughts of marriage. ❋ Unknown (2010)

An expression of dull confusion crossed his handsome face. ❋ CATHERINE HAPKA (2010)

In her Shell Guide to Northamptonshire, Juliet Smith tells us how to look at it: ‘It is best seen in dull weather or at dusk, when the ugly materials used by its Victorian builders, an indiscriminate mixture of blue and red brick, cannot detract from the effect of the classical proportions of arch and pillar’. ❋ Unknown (2008)

«He understands better than any speaker of his years … how to quicken slow blood, kindle light in dull eyes, and bring the flood-tide of enthusiasm sweeping into all creeks and inlets of the spirit.» ❋ Unknown (2008)

Matt on Jun 25, 2008 that looks so fuckin dull, I can’t even finish watching the trailer. boring. ❋ Unknown (2008)

Their small-town eyes will gape at you in dull surprise when payment due exceeds accounts received at seventeen ❋ Unknown (2008)

«She’s [dull as fuck] [man].» ❋ Welshwords17 (2005)

[Tomorrow] is [gonna] be a dull [day] ❋ Mr Welsh (2009)

dull has a picture of [Jon] [DesJardins] next to it in [the dictionary] ❋ Phillygoat (2008)

[Today] Is a [dull] [day] ❋ AC (2003)

I got her [flowers] but she’s [still] [dulling] me. ❋ Alexander90210 (2018)

[Mike]: This party sucks.
[George]: I know, its so [dull].
Mike: This is such a dull night. ❋ Watermelonman123 (2011)

Did you see the new [Wolverine] [movie] with [Hugh Jackman], man I was Dulling. ❋ LBOT (2011)

[She wrote] [dull], [respectable] articles for the local newspaper.
He’s pleasant enough, but deadly dull. ❋ Polakaw (2021)

After being at the party for [a few minutes], [Brooke] texted her friends saying, «Don’t come to the party, it’s super [dull].» ❋ @EmilyTheFlannelGirl (2016)

(1) “Man life can be [dull] sometimes!”
(2) “This [knife] is dull. You may need to [sharpen] it.” ❋ NerdyTes (2018)

Источник

Top Definitions
Synonyms
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Examples
British
Idioms And Phrases

This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.

adjective, dull·er, dull·est.

not sharp; blunt: a dull knife.

causing boredom; tedious; uninteresting: a dull sermon.

not lively or spirited; listless.

not bright, intense, or clear; dim: a dull day; a dull sound.

having very little depth of color; lacking in richness or intensity of color.

slow in motion or action; not brisk; sluggish: a dull day in the stock market.

mentally slow; lacking brightness of mind; somewhat stupid; obtuse.

lacking keenness of perception in the senses or feelings; insensible; unfeeling.

not intense or acute: a dull pain.

verb (used with or without object)

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Origin of dull

1200–50; Middle English; akin to Old English dol foolish, stupid; cognate with German toll

synonym study for dull

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. 7. Dull, blunt, slow, stupid are applied to mental qualities. Dull implies obtuseness, lack of imagination: a dull child. Blunt implies loss of original keenness of intelligence through disease, sad experience, or the like: His critical faculties were blunt. 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.

OTHER WORDS FROM dull

dullness, dulness, noundully, adverbun·dulled, adjective

Words nearby dull

dulcimer, dulcinea, dulcitol, Dulcy, dulia, dull, dullard, dull as dishwater, Dulles, Dulles International Airport, Dulles, John Foster

Words related to dull

boring, dim, dumb, simple, slow, sluggish, stupid, flat, lifeless, listless, placid, quiet, dismal, dreary, dry, humdrum, ordinary, repetitive, stale, tame

How to use dull in a sentence

Both are real questions high-schoolers face at this point in their lives, but that doesn’t amount to engaging conflict here thanks to a dull screenplay.
Finally, Winceworth finds his labor to be so dull that he creates fake words and sneaks them into Swansby’s Dictionary.
A dull village life might have prompted our ancestors to explore what might be across that river, or perhaps to try a new berry they found in the woods.
Place the shiny side next to your body, as the dull silver side reflects only 65 percent of radiated heat.

Long gone are the days of dead batteries, dull blades, and desperate trips to the barber.
But the man appears so weary that I decide to skip the dull stuff and get to the heat.
The work at Art Basel is often interesting, often dull, and disproportionately decorative in nature.
His course managed to be both dreadfully dull and appallingly difficult, with few light moments.
I was quoted in The New York Times saying, ‘We dared to be dull’.
According to Mack, he nearly killed her, broke 18 of her bones and, “sawed much of my hair off with [a] dull knife.”
The policemen looked dull and heavy, as if never again would any one be criminal, and as if they had come to know it.
Drone: the largest tube of a bag-pipe, giving forth a dull heavy tone.
It’ll be beastly dull for her at The Warren, you see, poor girl; and she doesn’t seem to jump at Spunyarn, though he does hang on.
They are grayish or colorless, and have a dull waxy look, as if cut from paraffin (Figs. 43 and 61).
There was a distant, dull boom in the air—a repeated heavy thud.

British Dictionary definitions for dull

adjective

slow to think or understand; stupid

lacking in interest

lacking in perception or the ability to respond; insensitive

lacking sharpness; blunt

not acute, intense, or piercing

(of weather) not bright or clear; cloudy

not active, busy, or brisk

lacking in spirit or animation; listless

(of colour) lacking brilliance or brightness; sombre

not loud or clear; muffled

med (of sound elicited by percussion, esp of the chest) not resonant

verb

Derived forms of dull

dullish, adjectivedullness or dulness, noundully, adverb

Word Origin for dull

Old English dol; related to Old Norse dul conceit, Old High German tol foolish, Greek tholeros confused

Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with dull

In addition to the idiom beginning with dull

dull as dishwater

also see:

never a dull moment

Источник