Dull - English meaning

verb

Diminish or put at rest (fear, suspicion, or worry).

Usage examples:

The report attempted to educate the public and allay fears

verb

To make a negative emotion less strong or a problem less difficult

Usage examples:

I was nervous, but seeing her allayed my fears.

verb

Make (suffering, deficiency, or a problem) less severe.

Usage examples:

He couldn't prevent her pain, only alleviate it

verb

To make pain or problems less severe

Usage examples:

The medicine did nothing to alleviate her discomfort.

verb

Make (an unpleasant feeling) less intense.

Usage examples:

The letter assuaged the fears of most members

verb

To make unpleasant feelings less strong

Usage examples:

The government has tried to assuage the public's fears.

verb

Deprive of physical or emotional feeling.

Usage examples:

The flood of images and alerts coming through social networks is benumbing us

adjective

Lacking strong features or characteristics and therefore uninteresting.

Usage examples:

Bland, mass-produced pop music

adjective

(of a cutting implement) not having a sharp edge or point.

Usage examples:

A blunt knife

verb

Make or become less sharp.

Usage examples:

Wood can blunt your axe

noun

A hollowed-out cigar filled with cannabis.

Usage examples:

Consequently, marijuana use in blunts may persist longer into adulthood for a larger proportion of …

adjective

Not interesting; tedious.

Usage examples:

I've got a boring job in an office

verb

Make (a hole) in something with a tool or by digging.

Usage examples:

Bore a hole in the wall to pass the cable through

verb

Cause (someone) to feel weary and uninterested by dull talk or behaviour.

Usage examples:

She is too polite to bore us with anecdotes

adjective

Stupid; very foolish.

Usage examples:

A brainless bimbo

adjective

Stupid or thoughtless

Usage examples:

That was a brainless thing to do!

adjective

A characterless person or thing is not interesting or has no style or unusual qualities

Usage examples:

It's just one of those characterless modern cities., a perfect but characterless face

adjective

(especially of a gas or liquid) without colour.

Usage examples:

A colourless liquid

adjective

Having no colour

Usage examples:

Water and glass are colourless., carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless, poisonous gas., it is …

adjective

Foolish or stupid.

adjective

An offensive word to describe a person or a kind of behaviour that is considered to be very stupid or unpleasant

Usage examples:

He made some disgusting, cretinous comments., what sort of cretinous moron are you!

verb

Make slightly wet.

Usage examples:

The fine rain dampened her face

verb

To make something slightly wet

Usage examples:

Rain dampened the tent, but it dried in the sun., i think the accident dampened his enthusiasm for …

verb

To make something less strong or successful

Usage examples:

The outlook for the global economy looked gloomy, and dampened expectations of a rise in profits th…

adjective

With little or no light.

Usage examples:

It's too dark to see much

noun

The absence of light in a place.

Usage examples:

Carolyn was sitting in the dark

verb

Make (a noise or sensation) less strong or intense.

Usage examples:

Ether was used to deaden the pain

verb

To reduce the severity or effect of something

Usage examples:

He asked for some stronger medication to deaden the pain.

verb

Make or become smaller or fewer in size, amount, intensity, or degree.

Usage examples:

The population of the area has decreased radically

noun

An instance or example of becoming smaller or fewer.

Usage examples:

A decrease in births

verb

To become smaller or make something less

Usage examples:

[ i ] car sales decreased sharply this year., i haven’t noticed any decrease in ticket sales.

noun

A wild mammal's hidden home; a lair.

Usage examples:

A female mink had set up her den there

verb

(of a wild animal) live in a den.

Usage examples:

The cubs denned in the late autumn

verb

Make (someone) feel utterly dispirited or dejected.

Usage examples:

That first day at school depressed me

verb

Make less sensitive.

Usage examples:

Creams to desensitize the skin at the site of the injection

verb

To cause someone to experience something, usually an emotion or a pain, less strongly than before

Usage examples:

Seeing too much violence on television can desensitize people to it.

verb

Make or become less.

Usage examples:

The new law is expected to diminish the government's chances

verb

To reduce or be reduced in size or importance

Usage examples:

[ i ] the threat of inflation is diminishing., [ t ] a single-payer system would diminish the burea…

verb

To reduce or be reduced in size, importance, or value

Usage examples:

If consumers start losing confidence, it will diminish demand for household goods., investors can d…

adjective

(of a person) stupid; idiotic.

Usage examples:

A doltish character

adjective

Stupid

Usage examples:

He plays a doltish detective who misses clues that are staring him in the face., they spend every e…

adjective

Lacking brightness or interest; drearily dull.

Usage examples:

The landscape was drab and grey

noun

Fabric of a dull light brown colour.

Usage examples:

A young man dressed in drabs

noun

A slovenly woman.

adjective

Depressingly dull and bleak or repetitive.

Usage examples:

The dreary round of working, eating, and trying to sleep

adjective

Unattractive and having nothing of any interest, and therefore likely to make you sad

Usage examples:

It was a gray, dreary day, with periods of rain.

adjective

Free from moisture or liquid; not wet or moist.

Usage examples:

The jacket kept me warm and dry

noun

(of information, writing, etc.) dully factual.

Usage examples:

The dry facts of the matter

verb

Free from liquid or moisture

adjective

Slow to understand or learn; not very intelligent

Usage examples:

He was an unimaginative and dull-witted man., they are devoted and dull-witted enough to obey any o…

noun

Absence of difficulty or effort.

Usage examples:

She gave up smoking with ease

verb

Make (something unpleasant or intense) less serious or severe.

Usage examples:

A huge road-building programme to ease congestion

verb

Freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort

adjective

Silly, stupid, or not having good judgment

verb

Gradually grow faint and disappear.

Usage examples:

The light had faded and dusk was advancing

noun

The process of becoming less bright.

Usage examples:

The sun can cause colour fade

noun

A shot causing the ball to deviate to the right (or, for a left-handed golfer, the left)

Usage examples:

When they get to the 18th the ideal shot is a fade

adjective

Lacking distinctive attributes or aspects.

Usage examples:

A featureless landscape of snow and ice

adjective

Looking the same in every part, usually in a way that most people consider to be boring

Usage examples:

A featureless desert, a grey featureless landscape

adjective

Having a level surface; without raised areas or indentations.

Usage examples:

He sat down on a flat rock

adverb

In or to a horizontal position.

Usage examples:

He was lying flat on his back

noun

The flat part of something.

Usage examples:

She placed the flat of her hand over her glass

adjective

Lacking good sense or judgement; unwise.

Usage examples:

He was foolish enough to confide in her

adjective

Stupid

Usage examples:

A half-witted remark

adjective

Very stupid.

Usage examples:

I was able to hum its idiotic theme tune

adjective

Stupid

adjective

Extremely stupid

Usage examples:

That was an imbecilic thing to do!, she looked at me with an imbecilic grin.

adjective

Lacking in vitality, force, or conviction; uninspired or uninspiring.

Usage examples:

No excuses were made for the team's lacklustre performance

adjective

Not very good or exciting, or not showing a lot of activity or effort

Usage examples:

After a period of lacklustre performance, the company has finally announced some very positive resu…

verb

Make or become less; diminish.

Usage examples:

The years have lessened the gap in age between us

verb

To become or make something smaller in amount or degree

Usage examples:

[ t ] keeping your weight down can lessen the risk of heart disease.

verb

To make something smaller, less noticeable, etc., or to become smaller, less noticeable, etc.

Usage examples:

Corporate executives are keen to embrace "green technology" in order to lessen their dependence on …

adjective

Not bright or shiny; dull.

Usage examples:

Her uncombed, lustreless black hair

adjective

Acting or done without justification and with no concern for the consequences.

Usage examples:

A generation of mindless vandals

adjective

Not reasonable or understandable

Usage examples:

People waste a lot of time doing mindless things.

adjective

Average in amount, intensity, quality, or degree.

Usage examples:

We walked at a moderate pace

noun

A person who holds moderate views, especially in politics.

Usage examples:

An unlikely alliance of radicals and moderates

verb

Make or become less extreme, intense, rigorous, or violent.

Usage examples:

I shall not moderate my criticism

adjective

Dull, tedious, and repetitious; lacking in variety and interest.

Usage examples:

The statistics that he quotes with monotonous regularity

adjective

Boring because of never changing

Usage examples:

She stood all day ironing a monotonous succession of clothes and sheets.

adjective

Very foolish or stupid.

Usage examples:

Television's latest moronic soap opera

adjective

Very stupid

Usage examples:

A moronic grin, some really moronic suggestions

adjective

Covered in or full of mud.

Usage examples:

They changed their muddy boots

verb

Cover or fill (something) with mud.

Usage examples:

The linoleum flooring was muddied

adjective

Covered by or containing mud (= wet, sticky earth)

Usage examples:

Don't bring those muddy boots inside!, muddy water, the room has been painted in muddy browns and g…

adjective

Refraining from speech or temporarily speechless.

Usage examples:

Harry sat mute, his cheeks burning resentfully

noun

A person lacking the faculty of speech.

Usage examples:

They do not write; and unlike mutes, or monks under vows of silence, they do not use any signs or o…

verb

Deaden, muffle, or soften the sound of.

Usage examples:

Her footsteps were muted by the thick carpet

adjective

(of a sound or voice) quiet and soft.

Usage examples:

The muted hum of the distant traffic

verb

Deaden, muffle, or soften the sound of.

Usage examples:

Her footsteps were muted by the thick carpet

adjective

Not loud, or not enthusiastic

Usage examples:

Her reaction was muted.

adjective

(of a part of the body) deprived of the power of physical sensation.

Usage examples:

My feet were numb with cold

verb

Deprive of feeling or responsiveness.

Usage examples:

The cold had numbed her senses

adjective

Annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand.

Usage examples:

He wondered if the doctor was being deliberately obtuse

adjective

(of an angle) more than 90° and less than 180°, or (of a triangle) containing an angle of more than 90° and less than 180°

Usage examples:

I’m not trying to be obtuse, but i don’t get it.

adjective

Light in colour or shade; containing little colour or pigment.

Usage examples:

Choose pale floral patterns for walls

verb

Become pale in one's face from shock or fear.

Usage examples:

I paled at the thought of what she might say

noun

A wooden stake or post used with others to form a fence.

Usage examples:

Get creative with a picket fence and have diagonal pales nailed to the horizontal boards.

verb

Make (a disease or its symptoms) less severe without removing the cause.

Usage examples:

Treatment works by palliating symptoms

verb

To reduce the bad effects of something

Usage examples:

They tried to palliate the hardship of their lives., the drugs palliate pain but have no effect on …

verb

Make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.

Usage examples:

The need for businesses to reduce costs

verb

Make smaller

verb

To make something less in size, amount, degree, importance, or price

Usage examples:

A low-fat diet can reduce the risk of heart disease., grunn employs 17,900 people, but that number …

verb

Tear (something) into pieces.

Usage examples:

Snapping teeth that would rend human flesh to shreds

verb

To break something violently; tear

verb

To tear or break something violently

Usage examples:

With one stroke of his sword, he rent his enemy's helmet in two., [ + adj ] firemen had to rend him…

adjective

Moving or operating, or designed to do so, only at a low speed; not quick or fast.

Usage examples:

Until recently diesel cars were slow and noisy

adverb

At a slow pace; slowly.

Usage examples:

The train went slower and slower

verb

Reduce one's speed or the speed of a vehicle or process.

Usage examples:

The train slowed to a halt

adjective

Not clever and therefore slow to notice or understand things

verb

Make or become soft or softer.

Usage examples:

Plant extracts to soften and moisturize the skin

verb

To become gentle, or to make something less forceful or loud

Usage examples:

[ t ] he made an effort to soften his tone., congress will move to soften the law’s impact., [ i ] …

verb

If demand, a price, a market, etc. softens, it stops increasing or it goes down

Usage examples:

Share prices softened with continued worries about the country's economic recovery., although deman…

adjective

Dark or dull in colour or tone.

Usage examples:

The night skies were sombre and starless

verb

Gently calm (a person or their feelings).

Usage examples:

A shot of brandy might soothe his nerves

verb

To cause someone to be less upset or angry, or to cause something to hurt less

Usage examples:

I picked up the crying child and tried to soothe her., a soothing ointment for sunburn

adjective

Calm, dependable, and showing little emotion or animation.

Usage examples:

A stolid bourgeois gent

adjective

Showing little or no emotion or imagination

Usage examples:

Stolid and impassive, the customs inspector listened to her explanation.

adjective

Having or showing a great lack of intelligence or common sense.

Usage examples:

I was stupid enough to think she was perfect

noun

A stupid person (often used as a term of address).

Usage examples:

You're not a coward, stupid!

adjective

Lacking thought or intelligence

Usage examples:

I just made another stupid mistake., turn off that stupid program!, can you believe my stupidity? i…

adjective

(of a person or their manner) quiet and rather reflective or depressed.

Usage examples:

I felt strangely subdued as i drove home

verb

Overcome, quieten, or bring under control (a feeling or person).

Usage examples:

She managed to subdue an instinct to applaud

adjective

(of color or light) not very bright, or (of sound) not very loud

Usage examples:

A subdued voice, a subdued chalk-stripe suit, most of the fans were subdued, quietly waiting for th…

adjective

Dull; gloomy.

Usage examples:

The light was subfusc and aqueous

noun

The dark formal clothing worn for examinations and formal occasions at some universities.

Usage examples:

Well i guess i ought to get out of my subfusc, wipe the smudged makeup off my face and find some fo…

adjective

Too long, slow, or dull; tiresome or monotonous.

Usage examples:

A tedious journey

adjective

Causing one to feel bored or annoyed.

Usage examples:

Weeding is a tiresome but essential job

adjective

Tiring, annoying, or boring

Usage examples:

It’s getting a little tiresome, listening to you complain.

adjective

Not exciting; dull.

Usage examples:

Many school prospectuses are dull and unexciting

adjective

Not exciting

Usage examples:

He found life in the small town unexciting and wanted to travel the world., the museum has a pleasa…

adjective

Not producing excitement or interest.

Usage examples:

An uninspiring game that united scarcely deserved to win

adjective

Not making you feel excited or interested

Usage examples:

The menu looked fairly uninspiring.

adjective

Having or showing a low level of intelligence.

Usage examples:

A good-natured but unintelligent boy

adjective

Not arousing curiosity or interest.

Usage examples:

The scenery is dull and uninteresting

adjective

Not interesting

adjective

Not arousing interest or enthusiasm.

Usage examples:

His current job is mundane and unstimulating

adjective

Having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; mindless.

Usage examples:

A vacuous smile

adjective

Consisting of, containing, or resembling water.

Usage examples:

A watery fluid

adjective

Causing one to feel tired or bored.

Usage examples:

They have schedules and inventories that tell them in wearisome detail what they should look for

adjective

Causing a person to be tired; boring

Usage examples:

A long project becomes wearisome and loses its excitement for me.

adjective

Foolish; stupid.

Usage examples:

A witless retort

adjective

Stupid or showing no intelligence

Usage examples:

In the book, anna is forced to take care of her witless cousin., she was scared witless of robert, …