Meanings
dull1
comparative duller · superlative dullest · alternative dul · alternative dulle
- Boring; not exciting or interesting.
He sat through the dull lecture and barely stayed awake.
2 more examples
"You are very dull this morning, Sheriff," said the youngest daughter of the house, who, being the baby and pretty, had grown pettishly privileged in speech.
1895, S. R. Crockett, A Cry Across the Black WaterBut there we were given only the dullest, driest, pemmicanised forms like The Student's Hume, Once I had a hundred pages of The Student's Hume as a holiday task.
2012, Winston S. Churchill, Martin Gilbert, Churchill: The Power of Words, page 14Synonyms: banal, basic, mindless, beat, blah, commonplace, bland, boring
- Not shiny; having a matte finish or no particular luster or brightness.
Choose a dull finish to hide fingerprints.
3 more examples
a dull fire or lamp; a dull red or yellow; a dull mirror
A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; as, again, the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull, small fire.
1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0016The young bird had the plumage of the saddleback, not the even chestnut of the jackbird, although its plumage was rather duller than that of the adult.
1959, Robert Adams Wilson, Bird Islands of New Zealand, page 67Synonyms: lackluster, matte, bland, colourless, dim, dingy, faint, lackluster · Antonyms: bright
- Not bright or intelligent; stupid; having slow understanding.
dull at classical learning
1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 5, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC2 more examples
She is not bred so dull but she can learn.
c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]She paused and took a defiant breath. ‘If you don't believe me, I can't help it. But I'm not a liar.’ ¶ ‘No,’ said Luke, grinning at her. ‘You're not dull enough! […] What about the kid's clothes? I don't suppose they were anything to write home about, but didn't you keep anything? A bootee or a bit of embroidery or anything at all?’
1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 15, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLCSynonyms: addlebrained, addlepated, airheaded, bee-brained, beef-witted, soft, beefheaded, beetle-headed · Antonyms: astute, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, educated, genius, gifted
- Sluggish, listless.
O, help my weak wit and sharpen my dull tongue.
1590, Edmund Spenser, “(please specify the book)”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC2 more examples
This people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 13:xiii[…] St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.
1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLCSynonyms: ponderous, slothful, bone-idle, fainéant, idle, indolent, inert, lackadaisical
- Bored, depressed, down.
I felt dull all day.
Synonyms: atrabiliary, atrabilious, blitheless, dispirited, blue, bummed out, chapfallen, cheerless
- Insensible; unfeeling.
Think me not / So dull a devil to forget the loss / Of such a matchless wife.
1616–1619 (first performance), John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, Nathan Field, “The Knight of Malta”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act V, scene iiSynonyms: emotionless, alexithymic, apathistical, clinical, phlegmatic, cold-blooded, cold-hearted, dead inside
- Heavy; lifeless; inert.
c. 1857', Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Table-Talk As turning the logs will make a dull fire burn, so changes of study a dull brain.
1 more example
the dull earth
c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]Synonyms: immobile, abeyant, at rest, cessant, dormant, fallow, hibernating, idle
- Not intense; felt indistinctly or only slightly.
Pressing on the bruise produces a dull pain.
present singular third person dulls · participle present dulling · participle past dulled · past dulled · alternative dul · alternative dulle
- transitiveTo render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp.
Years of misuse have dulled the tools.
1 more example
This […] dulled their swords.
a. 1627 (date written), Francis [Bacon], “Considerations Touching a Warre with Spaine. […]”, in William Rawley, editor, Certaine Miscellany Works of the Right Honourable Francis Lo. Verulam, Viscount S. Alban. […], London: […] I. Hauiland for Humphrey Robinson, […], published 1629, →OCLC - transitiveTo soften, moderate or blunt; to make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy.
He drinks to dull the pain.
2 more examples
Those [drugs] she has / Will stupefy and dull the sense a while.
1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene vi]Use and custom have so dulled our eyes.
1850, Richard Chenevix Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord - To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish.
dull2
plural dulls
- IrelandSouthern USarchaicobsoleteA noose of string, metal wire, or hair used to snare an animal, especially a fish.
Play fair, boys. No dynamite nor "dulling." The deadly "dull," or wire noose, is a fatal weapon against a trout.
1903, Field and Stream, page 661 more example
A horse with long, stiff hair in the tail was selected. […] a quick jerk [...] secured the material for a "dull." […] Then the "dull" was ready for use. […] the noose [was] slipped over the head to the gills and then with a quick jerk the sucker was dulled and pulled out of the water. Generally the dull held the fish and it was loosened and dropped on the bank but sometimes it was thrown out of the water but then slipped loose from the dull and fell on one of the banks or, worse luck, into the water. […]
1929 June 1, “Notes from a Farmer's Experience”, in Southern Agriculturist, volume 59, page 8
present singular third person dulls · participle present dulling · participle past dulled · past dulled
- IrelandSouthern USarchaicobsoleteTo fish (or snare an animal, especially a fish) with such a noose.
I hope that the barbarous practice called dulling has gone out of fashion.
1880 March 11, Forest and Stream3 more examples
Play fair, boys. No dynamite nor "dulling." The deadly "dull," or wire noose, is a fatal weapon against a trout.
1903, Field and Stream, page 66In Irish-English, “dulling for trout” is well known,—the fish as they lie still in a pool are snared with a noose of horsehair.
1915, “Clare Island Survey: A Biological Survey of Clare Island”, in Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, page 21While I was having my fishing experience on a West Virginia stream I did not realize that it was unique so far as average American boys are concerned. In those boyhood days we went "dulling" for suckers in the small creek that crossed my father's farm. […] To dull suckers the water had to be clear […] the noose [was] slipped over the head to the gills and then with a quick jerk the sucker was dulled and pulled out of the water. […] At any rate my nephews have not practiced dulling suckers to anything like the extent that their father and uncle did.
1929 June 1, “Notes from a Farmer's Experience”, in Southern Agriculturist, volume 59, page 8
Dull3
Dull4
- A village in Perth and Kinross council area, Scotland.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveBoring; not exciting or interesting.
adjectiveNot shiny; having a matte finish or no particular luster or brightness.
adjectiveNot bright or intelligent; stupid; having slow understanding.
adjectiveSluggish, listless.
adjectiveBored, depressed, down.
adjectiveInsensible; unfeeling.
adjectiveHeavy; lifeless; inert.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivelacking in liveliness or animation
adjectiveemitting or reflecting very little light
adjectiveso lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
adjective(of color) very low in saturation; highly diluted
adjectiveslow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity
adjectiveblunted in responsiveness or sensibility
adjectivenot clear and resonant; sounding as if striking with or against something relatively soft
verbdeaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
dull · adjective, verb
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰwel-
- Proto-Germanic*dulaz
- Proto-West Germanic*dol
- Old Englishdol“dull, foolish, erring, heretical; foolish, silly; presumptuous”
- Middle Englishdull
- Englishdull
From Middle English dull, dul (also dyll, dill, dwal), from Old English dol (“dull, foolish, erring, heretical; foolish, silly; presumptuous”), from Proto-West Germanic *dol, from Proto-Germanic *dulaz, from earlier *dwulaz, a variant of *dwalaz (“stunned, mad, foolish, misled”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwel-, *dʰewel- (“to dim, dull, cloud, make obscure, swirl, whirl”). Cognate with Scots dull, doll (“slow to understand or hear, deaf, dull”), North Frisian dol (“rash, unthinking, giddy, flippant”), Dutch dol (“crazy, mad, insane”), Low German dul, dol (“mad, silly, stupid, fatuous”), German toll (“crazy, mad, wild, fantastic”), Danish dval (“foolish, absurd”), Icelandic dulur (“secretive, silent”), West-Flemish dul (angry, furious).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →dull · noun, verb
- Irishdul
- Englishdull
Probably from Irish dul, dol (“loop, noose, snare”).
More words from Irish
Full word history & related roots →Dull · proper noun
* As a German surname, from dialectal tull (“stout, corpulent”) (see the adjective doll), or a variant of Thiel. See Duell. * As a Scottish surname, it is a habitational name from Dull in Perthshire (see Etymology 2). * As an English surname, variant of Dill, Doel.
Full word history & related roots →Dull · proper noun
- Pictish[Term?]
- EnglishDull
Possibly from Pictish [Term?], cognate with Proto-Brythonic *dol (“meadow”).
More words from Pictish
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀμβλύς, μωρός
- ἀμβλύς (amblús)lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- μωρός (mōrós)not bright or intelligent
- ἀμβλύνω (amblúnō)to render dull
Arabic كَلِيل
- كَلِيل (kalīl)lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
Basque akets, kamuts
- aketslacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- kamutslacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- lanputslacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
Bulgarian тъп, ску́чен
- тъп (tăp)lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- ску́чен (skúčen)boring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- ма́тов (mátov)not shiny
- тъп (tăp)not bright or intelligent
- притъпявам (prităpjavam)to render dull
- смекчавам (smekčavam)to soften, moderate or blunt
- притъпявам се (prităpjavam se)to become dull
Catalan rom, esmussat
- romlacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- esmussatlacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- insulsboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- fatboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- ennuvolatcloudy, overcast
- esmussarto render dull
- alleujarto soften, moderate or blunt
- esmorteirto soften, moderate or blunt
- moderarto soften, moderate or blunt
- esmussar-seto become dull
Chinese Mandarin 鈍 /钝, 無聊 /无聊
- 鈍 /钝 (dùn)lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- 無聊 /无聊 (wúliáo)boring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- 枯燥 (kūzào)boring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- 暗淡 (àndàn)not shiny
- 蠢 (chǔn)not bright or intelligent
- 陰沉 /阴沉 (yīnchén)cloudy, overcast
- 沉悶 /沉闷 (chénmèn)not clear, muffled
- 软化 (ruǎnhuà)to soften, moderate or blunt
- 钝化 (dùnhuà)to become dull
Czech tupý, fádní
- tupýlacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- fádníboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- natvrdlýnot bright or intelligent
- těžkopádnýheavy, lifeless, inert
Danish sløv, kedelig
- sløvlacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- kedeligboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- matnot shiny
- dumnot bright or intelligent
Dutch bot, stomp
- botlacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- stomplacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- saaiboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- matnot shiny
- domnot bright or intelligent
Esperanto malakra, enuiga
- malakralacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- enuigaboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- malbrilanot bright or intelligent
- malakrigito render dull
Estonian tuhm, nõme
- tuhmnot shiny
- nõmenot bright or intelligent
Finnish tylsä, tylsä
- tylsälacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- tylsäboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- vaisuboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- pitkäveteinenboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- ikävystyttäväboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- himmeänot shiny
- hidasjärkinennot bright or intelligent
- yksinkertainennot bright or intelligent
- tylsäjärkinennot bright or intelligent
- tylsänot bright or intelligent
- kankeasluggish, listless, vapid, insipid
- hidassluggish, listless, vapid, insipid
- tylsyttääto render dull
- tylstyttääto render dull
- lievittääto soften, moderate or blunt
- lieventääto soften, moderate or blunt
- tylsistyttääto soften, moderate or blunt
- tyhmentääto soften, moderate or blunt
- sumentaato soften, moderate or blunt
- tylsyäto become dull
- tylstyäto become dull
French émoussé, ennuyeux
- émoussélacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- ennuyeuxboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- barbantboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- matnot shiny
- ternenot shiny
- sotnot bright or intelligent
- obtusnot bright or intelligent
- idiotnot bright or intelligent
- sourdnot clear, muffled
- émousserto render dull
- userto render dull
- adoucirto soften, moderate or blunt
- modérerto soften, moderate or blunt
- amortirto soften, moderate or blunt
- assourdirto soften, moderate or blunt
- engourdirto soften, moderate or blunt
- émousserto become dull
- userto become dull
German stumpf, fad
- stumpflacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- fadboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- langweiligboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- mattnot shiny
- stumpfnot shiny
- blödnot bright or intelligent
- blödenot bright or intelligent
- dummnot bright or intelligent
- dumpfnot bright or intelligent
- trübcloudy, overcast
- abstumpfento render dull
- abstumpfento soften, moderate or blunt
- abstumpfento become dull
Greek αμβλύς, βαρετός
- αμβλύς (amvlýs)lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- βαρετός (varetós)boring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- μουντός (mountós)boring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- μουντός (mountós)not shiny
- φαιός (faiós)not shiny
- χαζός (chazós)not bright or intelligent
- αμβλύνω (amvlýno)to render dull
- αμβλύνω (amvlýno)to soften, moderate or blunt
Hebrew קֵהֶה, מְשַׁעֲמֵם
- קֵהֶה (kehe)lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- מְשַׁעֲמֵם (meshaámem)boring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
Hindi कुंद
- कुंद (kund)lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
Hungarian tompa
- tompalacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
Indonesian tumpul
- tumpullacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
Irish neamhlonrach, modartha
- neamhlonrachnot shiny
- modarthanot shiny
- marbhántasluggish, listless, vapid, insipid
- modarthacloudy, overcast
Italian spuntato, smussato
- spuntatolacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- smussatolacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- noiosoboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- soporiferoboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- tediosoboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- monotonoboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- opaconot shiny
- ottusonot bright or intelligent
- tardonot bright or intelligent
- foscocloudy, overcast
- nuvolosocloudy, overcast
- smussareto render dull
Japanese 鈍い, 退屈な
- 鈍い (nibui)lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- 退屈な (taikutsu na)boring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- つまらない (tsumaranai)boring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- 鈍い (nibui)not bright or intelligent
- 鈍い (noroi)not bright or intelligent
Korean 무디다
- 무디다 (mudida)lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
Latin hebes, retūsus
- hebeslacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- retūsuslacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- brūtusnot bright or intelligent
- fatuusnot bright or intelligent
- idiōtanot bright or intelligent
- stultusnot bright or intelligent
Latvian truls, neass
- trulslacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- neasslacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- blāvsnot shiny
- nespodrsnot shiny
Māori pūhuki, pūhoi
- pūhukilacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- pūhoilacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- mākihakihaboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- takeoboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- hihikokoreboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- waimehanot shiny
- horoteanot shiny
- pīatakorenot shiny
- mōhanihaninot shiny
- mātotorunot bright or intelligent
- rarenot bright or intelligent
- pūhoinot bright or intelligent
- whakahinamoeto soften, moderate or blunt
Norwegian kjedelig, matt
- kjedeligboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- mattnot shiny
- dumnot bright or intelligent
- sløveto render dull
Norwegian Bokmål sløv
- sløvlacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
Polish tępy, nudny
- tępylacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- nudnyboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- matowynot shiny
- tępynot bright or intelligent
- stępićto render dull
- stępić sięto become dull
Portuguese cego, embotado
- cegolacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- embotadolacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- entedianteboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- chatoboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- enfadonhoboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- maçanteboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- sem graçaboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- fosconot shiny
- fusconot shiny
- estúpidonot bright or intelligent
- fátuonot bright or intelligent
- imbecilnot bright or intelligent
- cegarto render dull
- desafiarto render dull
- suavizarto soften, moderate or blunt
- desafiarto become dull
Romanian tocit, bont
- tocitlacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- bontlacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- banalboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- plictisitorboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- matnot shiny
- obtuznot bright or intelligent
- tocito render dull
- tocito become dull
Russian тупо́й, ску́чный
- тупо́й (tupój)lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- ску́чный (skúčnyj)boring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- ту́склый (túsklyj)not shiny
- ма́товый (mátovyj)not shiny
- тупо́й (tupój)not bright or intelligent
- глу́пый (glúpyj)not bright or intelligent
- тупи́ть (tupítʹ)to render dull
- иступи́ть (istupítʹ)to render dull
- затупля́ть (zatupljátʹ)to render dull
- затупи́ть (zatupítʹ)to render dull
- притупля́ть (pritupljátʹ)to soften, moderate or blunt
- притупи́ть (pritupítʹ)to soften, moderate or blunt
- затупля́ться (zatupljátʹsja)to become dull
- затупи́ться (zatupítʹsja)to become dull
Slovak tupý
- tupýlacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
Spanish romo, embotado
- romolacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- embotadolacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- enromadolacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- sosoboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- insulsoboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- desabridoboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- sin graciaboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- chirleboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- cortonot bright or intelligent
- sosonot bright or intelligent
- nubladocloudy, overcast
- cubiertocloudy, overcast
- mellarto render dull
- deslustrarto render dull
- arromarto render dull
- enromarto render dull
- embotarto render dull
- embotarseto become dull
- enromarseto become dull
- arromarseto become dull
Swedish oskarp, slö
- oskarplacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- slölacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- tråkigboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- mattnot shiny
- oskarpnot bright or intelligent
- trögnot bright or intelligent
- dovof pain: not intense
- dövato soften, moderate or blunt
- dämpato soften, moderate or blunt
Tagalog mapurol
- mapurollacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
Thai ทื่อ
- ทื่อ (tʉ̂ʉ)lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
Turkish kör, küt
- körlacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- kütlacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- sıkıcıboring, not exciting or interesting — see also boring, insipid, lame
- matnot shiny
Ukrainian тупи́й
- тупи́й (tupýj)lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
Vietnamese cùn, cùi
- cùnlacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
- cùilacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with dull
All rhymes →Cite this entry
dull. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dull
“dull.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dull. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dull,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dull.
Source: dull on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.