Analysis Complete

dull

/ dull /
verb/adjective satellite

Definitions & Examples

verb Sense 1
make less lively or vigorous
"Middle age dulled her appetite for travel"
Type of:
weaken
Kinds of:
cloud
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
adjective satellite Sense 2
not clear and resonant; sounding as if striking with or against something relatively soft
"the dull thud"
"thudding bullets"
Similar:
unreverberant nonresonant
adjective satellite Sense 3
being or made softer or less loud or clear
"the dull boom of distant breaking waves"
"muffled drums"
"the muffled noises of the street"
"muted trumpets"
Similar:
soft
adjective Sense 4
lacking in liveliness or animation
"he was so dull at parties"
"a dull political campaign"
"a large dull impassive man"
"dull days with nothing to do"
"how dull and dreary the world is"
"fell back into one of her dull moods"
Similar:
bovine drab dreary heavy leaden humdrum monotonous lackluster
Opposites:
lively
See also:
colorless colourless spiritless unanimated
adjective Sense 5
not keenly felt
"a dull throbbing"
"dull pain"
Similar:
deadened
Opposites:
sharp
adjective Sense 6
not having a sharp edge or point
"the knife was too dull to be of any use"
Similar:
blunt blunted dulled edgeless unsharpened
Opposites:
sharp
adjective satellite Sense 7
darkened with overcast
"a dark day"
"a dull sky"
"a gray rainy afternoon"
"gray clouds"
"the sky was leaden and thick"
Similar:
cloudy
adjective satellite Sense 8
(of color) very low in saturation; highly diluted
"dull greens and blues"
Similar:
unsaturated
adjective Sense 9
emitting or reflecting very little light
"a dull glow"
"dull silver badly in need of a polish"
"a dull sky"
Similar:
flat mat matt matte matted lackluster lacklustre lusterless
Opposites:
bright
See also:
unpolished
adjective satellite Sense 10
(of business) not active or brisk
"business is dull (or slow)"
"a sluggish market"
Similar:
inactive
Domain:
commercial enterprise business enterprise business
verb Sense 11
become dull or lusterless in appearance; lose shine or brightness
"the varnished table top dulled with time"
Type of:
change
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
verb Sense 12
make dull in appearance
"Age had dulled the surface"
Type of:
change alter modify
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
verb Sense 13
make dull or blunt
"Too much cutting dulls the knife''s edge"
Opposites:
sharpen
Type of:
change alter modify
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
adjective satellite Sense 14
blunted in responsiveness or sensibility
"a dull gaze"
"so exhausted she was dull to what went on about her"- Willa Cather"
Similar:
insensitive
verb Sense 15
become less interesting or attractive
Type of:
change
Derived:
bore dullard
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s
verb Sense 16
deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping
Type of:
soften
Derived:
damper muffler mute silencer
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
adjective satellite Sense 17
so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
"a boring evening with uninteresting people"
"the deadening effect of some routine tasks"
"a dull play"
"his competent but dull performance"
"a ho-hum speaker who couldn''t capture their attention";"
Similar:
uninteresting
adjective satellite Sense 18
slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity
"so dense he never understands anything I say to him"
"never met anyone quite so dim"
"although dull at classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly quick"- Thackeray"
"dumb officials mak"
Similar:
stupid
verb Sense 19
make numb or insensitive
"The shock numbed her senses"
Type of:
desensitize desensitise
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s something with something
Somebody ----s on something
Semantic Complexity
100%
Sense Count
19
Total Synonyms
31
Total Relationships
60
Times Searched
3
Relationship Distribution

Word Relationship Graph

Synonyms Antonyms Hypernyms Hyponyms

Related Words

weaken cloud unreverberant nonresonant soft bovine drab dreary heavy leaden humdrum monotonous