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-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).
Pronunciation [ edit ]
Adjective [ edit ]
dull (comparative duller , superlative dullest )
Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp .
All these knives are dull .
Boring ; not exciting or interesting .
He sat through the dull lecture and barely stayed awake.
1895 , S. R. Crockett, A Cry Across the Black Water :"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.
Not shiny ; having a matte finish or no particular luster or brightness.
Choose a dull finish to hide fingerprints.
a dull fire or lamp; a dull red or yellow; a dull mirror
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 0016 :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.
Not bright or intelligent ; stupid; having slow understanding.
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 is not bred so dull but she can learn.
1963 , Margery Allingham , chapter 15, in The China Governess [1] :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?’
Sluggish , listless .
1918 , W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell , chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp , Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company , →OCLC :[ …] 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.
Cloudy , overcast .
It's a dull day.
Insensible; unfeeling .
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 ii:Think me not / So dull a devil to forget the loss / Of such a matchless wife.
Heavy ; lifeless ; inert .
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]:the dull earth
c. 1857' , Henry Wadsworth Longfellow , Table-Talk
As turning the logs will make a dull fire burn, so changes of study a dull brain.
( of pain etc ) Not intense ; felt indistinctly or only slightly .
Pressing on the bruise produces a dull pain.
( of a noise or sound ) Not clear , muffled .
Synonyms [ edit ]
Antonyms [ edit ]
Derived terms [ edit ]
Translations [ edit ]
lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp
Arabic: كَلِيل ( kalīl )
Armenian: բութ (hy) ( butʿ )
Azerbaijani: küt (az)
Belarusian: тупы́ ( tupý )
Bengali: please add this translation if you can
Bulgarian: тъп (bg) ( tǎp )
Burmese: တုံး (my) ( tum: )
Catalan: rom (ca) m , esmussat (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 鈍 / 钝 (zh) ( dùn )
Czech: tupý (cs)
Danish: sløv
Dutch: bot (nl) , stomp (nl)
Esperanto: malakra
Finnish: tylsä (fi)
French: émoussé (fr)
Galician: boto , zocho , mocho (gl) , esnafrado
Georgian: ბლაგვი (ka) ( blagvi ) , გაულესავი ( gaulesavi )
German: stumpf (de)
Greek: αμβλύς (el) ( amvlýs )
Ancient: ἀμβλύς ( amblús )
Hebrew: קֵהֶה (he) ( kehe )
Hindi: please add this translation if you can
Hungarian: tompa (hu)
Ido: obtuza (io)
Indonesian: tumpul (id)
Ingrian: tyltsä
Interlingua: obtuse
Italian: spuntato (it) , smussato (it)
Japanese: 鈍い (ja) ( にぶい, nibui )
Kashubian: tãpi
Korean: 무디다 (ko) ( mudida )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: کول ( kul )
Latgalian: naoss
Latin: hebes , retūsus
Latvian: truls , neass
Luxembourgish: stompeg
Macedonian: тап ( tap )
Maori: pūhuki , pūhoi
Navajo: doo deení da
Norwegian:
Bokmål: sløv
Nynorsk: sløv , slø
Persian: please add this translation if you can
Polish: tępy (pl)
Portuguese: cego (pt) , embotado (pt)
Rapa Nui: puni
Romanian: tocit (ro) , bont (ro)
Russian: тупо́й (ru) ( tupój )
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ту̑п
Roman: tȗp (sh)
Slovak: tupý
Slovene: top (sl)
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: tupy
Upper Sorbian: tupy
Spanish: romo (es) , desafilado (es) , embotado (es)
Sundanese: mentud
Swedish: oskarp (sv) , slö (sv)
Tagalog: mapurol (tl)
Thai: ทื่อ (th) ( tʉ̂ʉ )
Turkish: kör (tr)
Ukrainian: тупи́й ( tupýj )
Urdu: please add this translation if you can
Vietnamese: cùn (vi) , cùi (vi)
Walloon: diswijhî
Zealandic: bot
Zulu: please add this translation if you can
boring, not exciting or interesting
— see also boring
Armenian: ձանձրալի (hy) ( janjrali )
Bulgarian: ску́чен (bg) ( skúčen )
Catalan: insuls (ca) , fat (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 無聊 / 无聊 (zh) ( wúliáo )
Czech: fádní
Danish: kedelig (da)
Dutch: saai (nl)
Faroese: keðiligur
Finnish: tylsä (fi)
French: ennuyeux (fr) , barbant (fr)
Galician: eslamiado , eslamiada f , anódino (gl) m , anódina f
German: fad (de) , langweilig (de)
Greek: βαρετός (el) ( varetós ) , μουντός (el) ( mountós )
Hebrew: מְשַׁעֲמֵם ( meshaámem )
Italian: noioso (it) , soporifero (it) , tedioso (it) , monotono (it)
Japanese: 退屈な (ja) ( たいくつな, taikutsu na ) , つまらない (ja) ( tsumaranai )
Luxembourgish: fad , langweileg (lb)
Maori: mākihakiha , takeo , hihikokore
Norwegian: kjedelig (no)
Polish: nudny (pl)
Portuguese: entediante (pt) , chato (pt) m , enfadonho (pt) m , maçante (pt) , sem graça
Romanian: banal (ro) , plictisitor (ro)
Russian: ску́чный (ru) ( skúčnyj )
Slovene: dolgočásen (sl)
Spanish: aburrido (es) , soso (es) , insípido (es) m , insulso (es) m , desabrido (es) m , sin gracia
Swedish: tråkig (sv)
Turkish: sıkıcı (tr)
not shiny
Bulgarian: матов (bg) ( matov )
Danish: mat (da)
Dutch: mat (nl)
Estonian: tuhm
Finnish: himmeä (fi)
French: mat (fr) , terne (fr)
Georgian: მკრთალი ( mḳrtali ) , მქრქალი ( mkrkali )
German: matt (de) , stumpf (de)
Greek: μουντός (el) ( mountós ) , φαιός (el) ( faiós )
Irish: neamhlonrach
Italian: opaco (it)
Latvian: blāvs , nespodrs
Luxembourgish: blatzeg
Maori: waimeha ( of colours ) , horotea ( of colour ) , pīatakore , mōhanihani
Norwegian: matt (no)
Polish: matowy (pl)
Portuguese: fosco (pt) , fusco (pt)
Romanian: mat (ro)
Russian: ту́склый (ru) ( túsklyj ) , ма́товый (ru) ( mátovyj )
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: śamny
Spanish: mate (es) , opaco (es)
Swedish: matt (sv)
Turkish: mat (tr)
Zazaki: mat n
not bright or intelligent
Armenian: բութ (hy) ( butʿ )
Azerbaijani: qanmaz
Bulgarian: тъп (bg) ( tǎp )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 蠢 (zh) ( chǔn )
Danish: dum (da)
Dutch: dom (nl)
Estonian: nõme
Finnish: hidasjärkinen (fi) , yksinkertainen (fi)
French: sot (fr) , obtus (fr) , idiot (fr)
German: blöd (de) , blöde (de) , dumm (de) , dumpf (de)
Greek: χαζός (el) ( chazós )
Ancient: μωρός ( mōrós )
Italian: ottuso (it) , tardo (it)
Japanese: 鈍い (ja) ( にぶい, nibui ) , 鈍い (ja) ( のろい, noroi )
Latin: brūtus , fatuus , idiōta , stultus (la)
Luxembourgish: domm (lb) , topeg
Maori: mātotoru , rare , pūhoi , pongipongi
Norwegian: dum (no)
Polish: tępy (pl)
Portuguese: estúpido (pt) , fátuo (pt) , imbecil (pt) , idiota (pt)
Romanian: obtuz (ro)
Russian: тупо́й (ru) ( tupój ) , глу́пый (ru) ( glúpyj )
Spanish: obtuso (es) , corto (es) , limitado (es) , soso (es)
Swedish: oskarp (sv) , trög (sv)
Zazaki: nêxapêyen
Translations to be checked
dull (third-person singular simple present dulls , present participle dulling , simple past and past participle dulled )
( transitive ) To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp.
Years of misuse have dulled the tools.
a. 1627 (date written), Francis [Bacon] , “Considerations Touching a VVarre vvith Spaine. [ … ] ”, in William Rawley , editor, Certaine Miscellany VVorks of the Right Honourable Francis Lo. Verulam, Viscount S. Alban. [ … ] , London: [ … ] I. Hauiland for Humphrey Robinson , [ … ] , published 1629 , →OCLC :This [ …] dulled their swords.
( transitive ) To soften, moderate or blunt ; to make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy .
He drinks to dull the pain.
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]:Those [drugs] she has / Will stupefy and dull the sense a while.
( intransitive ) To lose a sharp edge; to become dull.
A razor will dull with use.
To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish.
Synonyms [ edit ]
Translations [ edit ]
to soften, moderate or blunt
Bulgarian: смекчавам (bg) ( smekčavam )
Finnish: lievittää (fi) , lieventää (fi) , tylsistyttää (fi) , tyhmentää (fi) , sumentaa (fi)
French: adoucir (fr) , modérer (fr) , amortir (fr) , assourdir (fr) , engourdir (fr)
German: abstumpfen (de)
Greek: αμβλύνω (el) ( amvlýno )
Maori: whakahinamoe
Portuguese: suavizar (pt)
Russian: притупля́ть (ru) impf ( pritupljátʹ ) , притупи́ть (ru) pf ( pritupítʹ )
Spanish: aliviar (es) , alivianar (es) , moderar (es) , amortiguar (es)
Swedish: döva (sv) , dämpa (sv)
to render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish
References [ edit ]
“dull ”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary , Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam , 1913, →OCLC .
“dull ”, in The Century Dictionary [ … ] , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co. , 1911, →OCLC .
Anagrams [ edit ]
Catalan [ edit ]
Alternative forms [ edit ]
Etymology [ edit ]
Inherited from Old Catalan duyll , from Late Latin ducīculus , diminutive from Latin ducem ( “ guide ” ) .
Pronunciation [ edit ]
dull m (plural dulls )
( nautical ) scupper
Synonym: embornal
bung-hole
References [ edit ]
“dull” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear , Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Further reading [ edit ]
Etymology [ edit ]
Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- ( “ to show, point out ” ) .[1]
Pronunciation [ edit ]
dull m (plural dulliau )
method
Mutation [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]
R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “dull ”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies