[syn: dull, leaden]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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, Dwell, Fraud.]
1. Slow of understanding; wanting readiness of apprehension;
stupid; doltish; blockish. "Dull at classical learning."
--Thackeray.
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She is not bred so dull but she can learn. --Shak.
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2. Slow in action; sluggish; unready; awkward.
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This people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears
are dull of hearing. --Matt. xiii.
15.
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O, help my weak wit and sharpen my dull tongue.
--Spenser.
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3. Insensible; unfeeling.
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Think me not
So dull a devil to forget the loss
Of such a matchless wife. -- Beau. & Fl.
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4. Not keen in edge or point; lacking sharpness; blunt. "Thy
scythe is dull." --Herbert.
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5. 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.
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6. Heavy; gross; cloggy; insensible; spiritless; lifeless;
inert. "The dull earth." --Shak.
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As turning the logs will make a dull fire burn, so
changes of study a dull brain. -- Longfellow.
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7. 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.
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Along life's dullest, dreariest walk. -- Keble.
Syn: Lifeless; inanimate; dead; stupid; doltish; heavy;
sluggish; sleepy; drowsy; gross; cheerless; tedious;
irksome; dismal; dreary; clouded; tarnished; obtuse. See
Lifeless.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
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Borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. --Shak.
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2. To make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy, as the
senses, the feelings, the perceptions, and the like.
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Those [drugs] she has
Will stupefy and dull the sense a while. --Shak.
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Use and custom have so dulled our eyes. --Trench.
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3. To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish. "Dulls the
mirror." --Bacon.
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4. To deprive of liveliness or activity; to render heavy; to
make inert; to depress; to weary; to sadden.
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Attention of mind . . . wasted or dulled through
continuance. --Hooker.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Dull \Dull\, v. i.
To become dull or stupid. --Rom. of R.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
dull
adj 1: 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" [ant: lively]
2: emitting or reflecting very little light; "a dull glow";
"dull silver badly in need of a polish"; "a dull sky" [ant:
bright]
3: 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" [syn: dull, muffled,
muted, softened]
4: 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" [syn: boring, deadening,
dull, ho-hum, irksome, slow, tedious, tiresome,
wearisome]
5: (of color) very low in saturation; highly diluted; "dull
greens and blues"
6: not keenly felt; "a dull throbbing"; "dull pain" [ant:
sharp]
7: 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" [syn: dense, dim, dull, dumb,
obtuse, slow]
8: (of business) not active or brisk; "business is dull (or
slow)"; "a sluggish market" [syn: dull, slow, sluggish]
9: not having a sharp edge or point; "the knife was too dull to
be of any use" [ant: sharp]
10: blunted in responsiveness or sensibility; "a dull gaze"; "so
exhausted she was dull to what went on about her"- Willa
Cather
11: not clear and resonant; sounding as if striking with or
against something relatively soft; "the dull thud";
"thudding bullets" [syn: dull, thudding]
12: darkened with overcast; "a dark day"; "a dull sky"; "the sky
was leaden and thick" [syn: dull, leaden]
v 1: make dull in appearance; "Age had dulled the surface"
2: become dull or lusterless in appearance; lose shine or
brightness; "the varnished table top dulled with time"
3: deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping [syn:
muffle, mute, dull, damp, dampen, tone down]
4: make numb or insensitive; "The shock numbed her senses" [syn:
numb, benumb, blunt, dull]
5: make dull or blunt; "Too much cutting dulls the knife's edge"
[syn: dull, blunt] [ant: sharpen]
6: become less interesting or attractive [syn: pall, dull]
7: make less lively or vigorous; "Middle age dulled her appetite
for travel"