dull

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See also: Dull

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]

  • IPA(key): /dʌl/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Audio (UK)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌl

Adjective[edit]

dull (comparative duller, superlative dullest)

  1. Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp.
    Antonym: sharp
    All these knives are dull.
  2. Boring; not exciting or interesting.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:boring
    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.
  3. Not shiny; having a matte finish or no particular luster or brightness.
    Synonyms: lackluster, matte; see also Thesaurus:dim
    Antonym: bright
    Choose a dull finish to hide fingerprints.
    a dull fire or lamp;  a dull red or yellow;  a dull mirror
  4. Not bright or intelligent; stupid; having slow understanding.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:stupid
    Antonyms: see Thesaurus:intelligent
  5. Sluggish, listless.
  6. Cloudy, overcast.
    It's a dull day.
  7. Insensible; unfeeling.
  8. Heavy; lifeless; inert.
  9. (of pain etc) Not intense; felt indistinctly or only slightly.
    Pressing on the bruise produces a dull pain.
  10. Not clear, muffled. (of a noise or sound)

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

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.
    • 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.
  2. (transitive) To soften, moderate or blunt; to make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy.
    He drinks to dull the pain.
  3. (intransitive) To lose a sharp edge; to become dull.
    A razor will dull with use.
  4. To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish.

Synonyms[edit]

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

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]

Noun[edit]

dull m (plural dulls)

  1. (nautical) scupper
    Synonym: embornal
  2. bung-hole

References[edit]

  • “dull” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Further reading[edit]

Welsh[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show, point out”).[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

dull m (plural dulliau)

  1. method

Mutation[edit]

Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
dull ddull null unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Morris Jones, John (1913) A Welsh Grammar, Historical and Comparative, Oxford: Clarendon Press, § 95 ii 2

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
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