dulladjective
uk/dʌl/us/dʌl/dull adjective (BORING)
B1 not interesting or exciting in any way:
She wrote dull, respectable articles for the local newspaper.
He's pleasant enough, but deadly dull.
Synonym
boring
More examples
- I find his art rather dull and conventional.
- The text was dull and formulaic.
- For years, he's plodded away at the same dull routine job.
- Those books seem rather dull beside this one.
- The ponderous reporting style makes the evening news dull viewing.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Tedious and uninspiring
- anonymous
- antiseptic
- banal
- be (as) dull as ditchwater idiom
- bland
- boring
- colourless
- drab
- earthbound
- flat-footed
- middle-aged
- mind-numbing
- monochrome
- monotonous
- mouldy
- stolid
- tedious
- threadbare
- tired
- tiresome
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dull adjective (NOT BRIGHT)
C1 not clear, bright, or shiny:
We could just see a dull glow given off by the fire's last embers.
UK The first day of our holiday was dull (= cloudy).
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Darkness & becoming dark
- black
- black sth out
- blackness
- blackout
- dark
- darken
- deepen
- dingy
- draw
- draw in
- gloomy
- half-light
- inky
- moonless
- pitch-dark
- shade
- shady
- silhouette
- Stygian
- the gloaming
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Colourless or causing colour to fade
dull adjective (NOT SHARP)
A dull sound or pain is not sharp or clear:
I heard a dull thud from the kitchen and realized she must have fainted.
The dull rumble of traffic woke her.
She felt a dull ache at the back of her head.
old-fashioned not intelligent
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Pain & painful
- -racked
- achy
- agonizing
- cluster headache
- dodgy
- earache
- hell
- hurt
- masochism
- non-ulcer stomach pain
- painful
- painfully
- rack
- racking
- shooting pains
- suffering
- tender
- throb
- torment
- wince
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Stupid and silly
dully
adverb uk/ˈdʌl.li/us/ˈdʌl.li/
The car lights glowed dully through the mist.
My arm still ached dully.
dullness
noun [ U ] uk/ˈdʌl.nəs/us/ˈdʌl.nəs/
Idiom(s)
be (as) dull as ditchwater
dullverb [ T ]
uk/dʌl/us/dʌl/to make something less severe:
Homeless children sniff glue to dull their hunger pains.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Becoming and making less strong
- abate
- adulterate
- attenuate
- attrition
- blow over
- blunt
- dial
- dim
- emasculate
- flagging
- jelly
- keep sb down
- knock/take the stuffing out of sb/sth idiom
- muffle
- neutralize
- pine
- sag
- shake
- wilt
- wither on the vine idiom
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