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Dull definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DULL, a. [G.]
1. Stupid; doltish; blockish; slow of understanding; as a lad of dull genius.
2. Heavy; sluggish; without life or spirit; as a surfeit leaves a man very dull.
3. Slow of motion; sluggish; as a dull stream.
4. Slow of hearing or seeing; as dull of hearing; dull of seeing.
5. Slow to learn or comprehend; unready; awkward; as a dull scholar.
6. Sleepy; drowsy.
7. Sad; melancholy.
8. Gross; cloggy; insensible; as the dull earth.
9. Not pleasing or delightful; not exhilarating; cheerless; as, to make dictionaries is dull work.
10. Not bright or clear; clouded; tarnished; as, the mirror is dull.
11. Not bright; not briskly burning; as a dull fire.
12 Dim; obscure; not vivid; as a dull light.
13. Blunt; obtuse; having a thick edge; as a dull knife or ax.
14. Cloudy; overcast; not clear; not enlivening; as dull weather.
15. With seamen, being without wind; as, a ship has a dull time.
16. Not lively or animated; as a dull eye.
DULL, v.t.
1. To make dull; to stupify; as, to dull the senses.
2. To blunt; as, to dull a sword or an ax.
3. To make sad or melancholy.
4. To hebetate; to make insensible or slow to perceive; as, to dull the ears; to dull the wits.
5. To damp; to render lifeless; as, to dull the attention.
6. To make heavy or slow of motion; as, to dull industry.
7. To sully; to tarnish or cloud; as, the breath dulls a mirror.
DULL, v.i. To become dull or blunt; to become stupid.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

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"

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English dul; akin to Old English dol foolish, Old Irish dall blind Date: 13th century 1. mentally slow ; stupid 2. a. slow in perception or sensibility ; insensible <somewhat dull of hearing> b. lacking zest or vivacity ; listless <a dull performance> 3. slow in action ; sluggish 4. a. lacking in force, intensity, or sharpness <a dull ache> b. not resonant or ringing <a dull booming sound> 5. lacking sharpness of edge or point <a dull knife> 6. lacking brilliance or luster <a dull finish> 7. of a color low in saturation and low in lightness 8. cloudy <dull weather> 9. tedious, uninteresting <dull lectures> • dullness also dulness noun • dully adverb Synonyms: dull, blunt, obtuse mean not sharp, keen, or acute. dull suggests a lack or loss of keenness, zest, or pungency <a dull pain> <a dull mind>. blunt suggests an inherent lack of sharpness or quickness of feeling or perception <a person of blunt sensibility>. obtuse implies such bluntness as makes one insensitive in perception or imagination <too obtuse to take the hint>. Synonym: see in addition stupid. II. verb Date: 13th century transitive verb to make dull <dull a knife's edge> intransitive verb to become dull

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & v. --adj. 1 slow to understand; stupid. 2 tedious; boring. 3 (of the weather) overcast; gloomy. 4 a (esp. of a knife edge etc.) blunt. b (of colour, light, sound, or taste) not bright, vivid, or keen. 5 (of a pain etc.) usu. prolonged and indistinct; not acute (a dull ache). 6 a (of a person, an animal, trade, etc.) sluggish, slow-moving, or stagnant. b (of a person) listless; depressed (he's a dull fellow since the accident). 7 (of the ears, eyes, etc.) without keen perception. --v.tr. & intr. make or become dull. Phrases and idioms: dull the edge of make less sensitive, interesting, effective, amusing, etc.; blunt. Derivatives: dullish adj. dullness n. (also dulness). dully adv. Etymology: ME f. MLG, MDu. dul, corresp. to OE dol stupid

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dull Dull, v. i. To become dull or stupid. --Rom. of R.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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. She is not bred so dull but she can learn. --Shak. 2. Slow in action; sluggish; unready; awkward. This people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing. --Matt. xiii. 15. O, help my weak wit and sharpen my dull tongue. --Spenser. 3. Insensible; unfeeling. Think me not So dull a devil to forget the loss Of such a matchless wife. -- Beau. & Fl. 4. Not keen in edge or point; lacking sharpness; blunt. ``Thy scythe is dull.'' --Herbert. 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. 6. Heavy; gross; cloggy; insensible; spiritless; lifeless; inert. ``The dull earth.'' --Shak. As turning the logs will make a dull fire burn, so changes of study a dull brain. -- Longfellow. 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. 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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. Borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. --Shak. 2. To make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy, as the senses, the feelings, the perceptions, and the like. Those [drugs] she has Will stupefy and dull the sense a while. --Shak. Use and custom have so dulled our eyes. --Trench. 3. To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish. ``Dulls the mirror.'' --Bacon. 4. To deprive of liveliness or activity; to render heavy; to make inert; to depress; to weary; to sadden. Attention of mind . . . wasted or dulled through continuance. --Hooker.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(duller, dullest, dulls, dulling, dulled) 1. If you describe someone or something as dull, you mean they are not interesting or exciting. I felt she found me boring and dull... = boring ? interesting ADJ [disapproval] • dullness They enjoy anything that breaks the dullness of their routine life. N-UNCOUNT 2. Someone or something that is dull is not very lively or energetic. The body's natural rhythms mean we all feel dull and sleepy between 1 and 3pm. = sluggish ADJ • dully His eyes looked dully ahead. ADV: ADV after v • dullness Did you notice any unusual depression or dullness of mind? 3. A dull colour or light is not bright. The stamp was a dull blue colour. ADJ: usu ADJ n • dully The street lamps gleamed dully through the night's mist. ADV: ADV with v 4. You say the weather is dull when it is very cloudy. It's always dull and raining. ? sunny ADJ 5. Dull sounds are not very clear or loud. The coffin closed with a dull thud. ADJ: usu ADJ n • dully He heard his heart thump dully but more quickly. ADV: ADV after v 6. Dull feelings are weak and not intense. The pain, usually a dull ache, gets worse with exercise... ? sharp ADJ: ADJ n • dully His arm throbbed dully. ADV 7. If a knife or blade is dull, it is not sharp. (OLD-FASHIONED) = blunt ? keen ADJ 8. If something dulls or if it is dulled, it becomes less intense, bright, or lively. Her eyes dulled and she gazed blankly... Share prices and trading have been dulled by worries over the war. VERB: V, V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Stupid, stolid, doltish, blockish, brutish, unintelligent, blunt-witted. 2. Apathetic, insensible, unimpassioned, passionless, dead, callous. 3. Inert, inactive, lifeless, inanimate, heavy, sluggish, slow, torpid. 4. Blunt, obtuse, dulled. 5. Gloomy, sad, dismal, cheerless. 6. Dim, obscure. 7. Tedious, wearisome, tiresome, uninteresting, dreary, dry, jejune. II. v. a. 1. Blunt, make blunt. 2. Stupefy, benumb, deaden, paralyze, obtund, hebetate, make or render insensible, render callous, make obtuse. 3. Depress, dishearten, discourage, dispirit, deject, make melancholy, make sad, gloomy, or dejected. 4. Quiet, allay, moderate, assuage, mitigate, alleviate, soften. 5. Sully, tarnish, dim.

Moby Thesaurus

KO, Laodicean, Olympian, Quaker-colored, Spartan, abate, abeyant, abrupt, achromatic, achromatize, achromic, acier, affectless, allay, alleviate, aloof, anemic, anesthetic, anesthetize, anesthetized, apathetic, appease, arctic, arid, ascetic, ashen, ashy, asleep, assuage, asthenic, attemper, attenuate, austere, autistic, backward, bad, baffle, bald, banausic, bank the fire, bare, barren, bate, bated, becloud, bedaze, bedim, beef-witted, befog, benumb, benumbed, besot, betwixt and between, blah, blanch, blank, blase, bleach, blear, blear-witted, bled white, blind, bloodless, blue, bluff, blunt, blunt-edged, blunt-ended, blunt-pointed, blunt-witted, blunted, bluntish, blur, blurry, bored, boring, bovine, brainless, broken-record, bromidic, cadaverous, callous, candid, canescent, cast down, cataleptic, catatonic, characterless, chasten, chicken, chill, chilly, chloranemic, chloroform, cinereous, cinerous, cloddish, cloud, clouded, cloudy, cold, cold as charity, cold-blooded, coldcock, coldhearted, colorless, comatose, common, commonplace, constrain, control, cool, cowardly, cramp, crass, cripple, cushion, damp, damped, dampen, dampened, dapple, dapple-gray, dappled, dappled-gray, dark, darken, de-emphasize, dead, deaden, deaden the pain, deadened, deadly pale, deafen, deathly pale, debilitate, debilitated, decolor, decolorize, dejected, dense, depressed, depressing, desensitize, desensitized, detached, devitalize, dim, dim-witted, diminish, dimmed, dingy, direct, discolor, discolored, disedge, disinterested, dismal, dispassionate, dispirited, doltish, dope, dopey, dormant, dove-colored, dove-gray, down, downhearted, downplay, drab, draggy, drain, drain of color, draw the teeth, drearisome, dreary, drooping, droopy, drug, drugged, dry, dryasdust, dull of mind, dull-edged, dull-headed, dull-pated, dull-pointed, dull-witted, dulled, dullish, dumb, dun, duncical, dusty, earthbound, ease, ease matters, edgeless, effete, elephantine, emotionally dead, emotionless, empty, enervate, enervated, enfeeble, etherize, etiolate, etiolated, even-tempered, everlasting, eviscerate, exanimate, exhaust, exhausting, exsanguinated, exsanguine, exsanguineous, extenuate, fade, faded, fagging, faint, faintish, fair, fair to middling, faired, fairish, fallow, fat-witted, fatiguing, feeble, feebleminded, flabby, flaccid, flat, floppy, foment, foul, frank, freeze, frigid, frosted, frosty, frozen, fume, ghastly, give relief, glaucescent, glaucous, gloomy, gone, gray, gray-black, gray-brown, gray-colored, gray-drab, gray-green, gray-spotted, gray-toned, gray-white, grayed, grayish, grey, griseous, grizzle, grizzled, grizzly, groggy, gross-headed, gruel, gutless, haggard, half-witted, hard, hardened, harping, hazy, heartless, heavy, hebetate, hebetudinous, ho-hum, hollow, homely, homespun, hopeless, hueless, humdrum, hypochromic, icy, imbecile, immovable, impassible, impassive, imperceptive, impercipient, imperturbable, impotent, in a stupor, in abeyance, in suspense, inactive, inane, inanimate, indifferent, indistinct, inert, inexcitable, infecund, infertile, inirritable, insensate, insensible, insensitive, insentient, insipid, insouciant, insusceptible, inured, invariable, irksome, iron-gray, jaded, jejune, jog-trot, kayo, keep within bounds, knock out, knock senseless, knock stiff, knock unconscious, lackadaisical, lackluster, languid, languorous, latent, lay, lay low, lay out, lead-gray, leaden, lean, lenify, lessen, lethargic, lifeless, lighten, limber, limp, listless, literal, livid, logy, long-winded, low-spirited, lowering, lull, lumpish, lurid, lusterless, lustless, marrowless, mat, matter-of-fact, mealy, mediocre, medium, middling, mitigate, moderate, modest, modulate, mollify, monotone, monotonous, moribund, moronic, mouse-colored, mouse-gray, mousy, muddy, muffle, muffled, mull, mundane, murky, mute, muted, namby-pamby, narcotize, natural, neat, nerveless, neutral, nonchalant, nonemotional, nubilous, numb, numbed, numbing, numskulled, obdurate, objective, obscure, obtund, obtundent, obtuse, of a kind, of a sort, of sorts, opaque, open, ordinary, out of touch, overcast, overclouded, pad, pale, pale as death, pale-faced, palliate, pallid, palsy, paralyze, passable, passionless, passive, pasty, patient, pearl, pearl-gray, pearly, pedestrian, peroxide, phlegmatic, pithless, plain, plain-speaking, plain-spoken, play down, plodding, pluckless, poetryless, pointless, poky, ponderous, pooped, poultice, pour balm into, pour oil on, powerless, prolix, prosaic, prosing, prosy, pure, put to sleep, rattle, reduce, reduce the temperature, relieve, repress, resigned, respectable, restrain, retard, retund, rocky, rounded, rubbery, rustic, sad, sallow, salve, sap, sapless, sated, sedentary, self-absorbed, severe, shake, shake up, sickly, silver, silver-gray, silvered, silvery, simple, simple-speaking, simpleminded, sinewless, singsong, slack, slacken, slake, slate-colored, slaty, sleeping, sleepy, slow, slow down, slow-witted, sluggish, slumbering, smoke-gray, smoky, smoldering, smoothed, smother, smothered, so-so, sober, sober down, soft, soft-pedal, soften, soften up, softened, solemn, somber, somnolent, soothe, soporific, sordo, soulless, spare, spineless, spiritless, spunkless, stagnant, stagnating, staid, standing, stark, static, steady, steel-gray, steely, sterile, stiff, stifle, stifled, stodgy, stoic, stolid, stone-colored, stop, straightforward, strengthless, stuffy, stultified, stun, stupe, stupefied, stupefy, stupid, subdue, subdued, subfusc, sunless, superficial, supine, suppress, suspended, tallow-faced, tame, tarnish, tasteless, taupe, tedious, temper, thick, thick-brained, thick-headed, thick-pated, thick-skinned, thick-witted, thickskulled, tiresome, tiring, tolerable, tone down, toneless, torpid, treadmill, tune down, turn, unadorned, unaffected, unaffectionate, unaroused, unbrace, uncaring, uncolored, unconcerned, undermine, underplay, undisturbable, unedged, unembellished, unemotional, uneventful, unfanciful, unfeeling, unfelt, unflappable, unhardened, unideal, unidealistic, unimaginative, unimpassioned, unimpressionable, uninspired, uninterested, uninteresting, uninventive, unirritable, unlively, unloving, unman, unnerve, unnerved, unnervous, unoriginal, unpassionate, unperceptive, unpoetic, unpoetical, unpointed, unresponding, unresponsive, unromantic, unromanticized, unsharp, unsharpened, unstrengthen, unstring, unstrung, unsusceptible, unsympathetic, untouchable, unvarnished, unvarying, vapid, vegetable, vegetative, wan, wash out, washed-out, waxen, weak, weaken, weakly, weariful, wearisome, weary, whey-faced, white, whiten, wishy-washy, withdrawn, wooden, world-weary