dull

dull
dullness, dulness, n.dully, adv.
/dul/, adj., duller, dullest, v.
adj.
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.
v.t., v.i.
10. to make or become dull.
[1200-50; ME; akin to OE dol foolish, stupid; c. G toll]
Syn. 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.
Ant. 1. sharp, keen. 2. interesting. 7. bright.

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Universalium. 2010.

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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},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • dull — adj 1 *stupid, slow, dumb, dense, crass Analogous words: *lethargic, sluggish, comatose: phlegmatic, stolid, *impassive, apathetic: *backward: retarded (see DELAY vb) Antonyms: clever, bright …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • dull — [dul] adj. [ME dul < OE dol, stupid, akin to Ger toll < IE * dh(e)wel < base * dheu , blow, be turbid > DUMB, DWELL, OIr dall, blind, Gr thanatos, death] 1. mentally slow; stupid 2. lacking sensitivity; blunted in feeling or… …   English World dictionary

  • Dull —    DULL, a parish, in the county of Perth, 4 miles (W. by N.) from Aberfeldy; containing, with parts of the late quoad sacra parishes of Foss and Tenandry, and part of the village of Aberfeldy, 3811 inhabitants, of whom 145 are in the village of… …   A Topographical dictionary of Scotland

  • dull — [dʌl] adjective JOURNALISM if business on a financial market is dull, not many people are buying or selling: • Shares closed lower in dull trading. • Investors were busy moving in and out of two year Treasury notes yesterday, providing a bit of… …   Financial and business terms

  • Dull — may refer to: Boring Dull, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, United Kingdom Dull Gret, a figure of Flemish folklore People with the surname Dull: Jack Dull (1930 1995), professor at the University of Washington John Dull (21st century), American… …   Wikipedia

  • dull — [adj1] unintelligent addled, backward, besotted, boring, brainless, daffy, daft, dense, dim, dim witted, doltish, dumb, feeble minded, half baked, ignorant, imbecilic, indolent, insensate, low, moronic, not bright, numskulled, obtuse,… …   New thesaurus

  • Düll — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Heinrich Düll (1867–1956), deutscher Bildhauer und Musiker der Prinzregentenzeit Rudolf Düll (1887–1979), deutscher Jurist Ruprecht Düll (* 1931), deutscher Botaniker Siehe auch Privatbrauerei Friedrich… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • 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. [1913 Webster] Borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. To make dull, stupid …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • dull — (adj.) c.1200, stupid; early 13c., blunt, not sharp; rare before mid 14c., apparently from O.E. dol dull witted, foolish, or an unrecorded parallel word, or from M.L.G. dul slow witted, both from P.Gmc. *dulaz (Cf. O.Fris., O.S. dol foolish,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Dull — Dull, v. i. To become dull or stupid. Rom. of R. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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