What does "dull" mean?
To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp.
Dull
/dʌl/ adj, name, verb
adj, name, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp.
- Grammar: dull is listed as adj, name, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: boring, dim, muted, tedious.
- Useful contrasts: beautiful, clever, foppish.
- Usage evidence: Geometry, about which I know nothing, seems like a very dull subject.
How to use "dull"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dull" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dull" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dull" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dull" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "dull" is acting as adj, name, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "boring" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "dull", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp. transitive
"Years of misuse have dulled the tools."
- 2 make less lively or vigorous wordnet
- 3 To soften, moderate or blunt; to make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy. transitive
"He drinks to dull the pain."
- 4 become dull or lusterless in appearance; lose shine or brightness wordnet
- 5 To lose a sharp edge; to become dull. intransitive
"A razor will dull with use."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 become less interesting or attractive wordnet
- 7 To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish.
- 8 make dull in appearance wordnet
- 9 make dull or blunt wordnet
- 10 make numb or insensitive wordnet
- 11 deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping wordnet
Adjective
- 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."
- 3 Not shiny; having a matte finish or no particular luster or brightness.
"Choose a dull finish to hide fingerprints."
- 4 Not bright or intelligent; stupid; having slow understanding.
"She is not bred so dull but she can learn."
- 5 Sluggish, listless.
"This people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 Bored, depressed, down.
"I felt dull all day."
- 7 Cloudy, overcast.
"It's a dull day."
- 8 Insensible; unfeeling.
"Think me not / So dull a devil to forget the loss / Of such a matchless wife."
- 9 Heavy; lifeless; inert.
"the dull earth"
- 10 Not intense; felt indistinctly or only slightly.
"Pressing on the bruise produces a dull pain."
- 11 Not clear, muffled. (of a noise or sound)
Adjective
- 1 (of business) not active or brisk wordnet
- 2 emitting or reflecting very little light wordnet
- 3 (of color) very low in saturation; highly diluted wordnet
- 4 slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity wordnet
- 5 darkened with overcast wordnet
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 not having a sharp edge or point wordnet
- 7 not keenly felt wordnet
- 8 lacking in liveliness or animation wordnet
- 9 so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness wordnet
- 10 being or made softer or less loud or clear wordnet
- 11 not clear and resonant; sounding as if striking with or against something relatively soft wordnet
- 12 blunted in responsiveness or sensibility wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. of Scottish and German origin.
- 2 A village in Perth and Kinross council area, Scotland.
Example
"Geometry, about which I know nothing, seems like a very dull subject."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dull"?
Common synonyms include: boring, dim, muted, tedious, abate, abeyant.
How do you use "dull" in a sentence?
Geometry, about which I know nothing, seems like a very dull subject.
How do you pronounce "dull"?
Pronounced /dʌl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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).
Etymology 2
* As a German surname, from dialectal tull (“stout, corpulent”) (see the adjective doll), or a variant of Thiel. See Duell. * As a Scottish surname, it is a habitational name from Dull in Perthshire (see Etymology 2). * As an English surname, variant of Dill, Doel.
Etymology 3
Possibly from Pictish [Term?], cognate with Proto-Brythonic *dol (“meadow”).