dull

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Contents

English [edit]

Alternative forms [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Middle English dull, dul (also dyll, dill, dwal), from Old English dol (“dull, foolish, erring, heretical; foolish, silly; presumptuous”), from Proto-Germanic *dulaz, 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”).

Pronunciation [edit]

Adjective [edit]

dull (comparative duller, superlative dullest)

  1. Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp.
    All these knives are dull.
  2. Boring; not exciting or interesting.
    He sat through the dull lecture and barely stayed awake.
    When does having a dull personality ever get you a girlfriend? Even if you get one, how does being dull help you keep a relationship for over a year?
  3. Not shiny; having a matte finish or no particular luster.
    Choose a dull finish to hide fingerprints.
  4. Not bright or intelligent; stupid; slow of understanding.

Synonyms [edit]

Antonyms [edit]

Translations [edit]

lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
boring
not shiny
not bright or intelligent
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb [edit]

dull (third-person singular simple present dulls, present participle dulling, simple past and past participle dulled)

  1. (transitive) To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp.
    Years of misuse have dulled the tools.
  2. (transitive) To soften, moderate or blunt.
    He drinks to dull the pain.
  3. (intransitive) To lose a sharp edge; to become dull.
    A razor will dull with use.

Translations [edit]

(transitive) To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp
(transitive) To soften, moderate or blunt
(intransitive) To lose a sharp edge; to become dull
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

External links [edit]

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