boring 1 of 3

adjective

ˈbȯr-iŋ How to pronounce boring (audio)
Definition of boringnext
as in tiring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest I wish this book weren't so boring; I keep falling asleep whenever I try to read it

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

boring

2 of 3

verb (1)

present participle of bore
1
as in drilling
to make a hole or series of holes in some woodpecker bored holes in our tree in the backyard

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pushing
to force one's way with some effort, she bored through the throng of yelling protestors

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boring

3 of 3

verb (2)

present participle of bore
as in wearying
to make weary and restless by being dull or monotonous the professor's lifeless and unimaginative teaching style bored the students to death

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of boring
Adjective
Part ravioli, part lasagna, this one-skillet supper will save you from a boring Wednesday dinner. — Jenna Sims, Southern Living, 8 July 2026 Doug Vikser Manhattan Beach Please save us from these boring British futbol announcers that only inspire narcolepsy. — Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026
Verb
Are our recent elections really worse than 1828’s, when that brilliant-yet-boring New Englander John Quincy Adams was reported to have procured American girls for the Russian Czar? — Greg Jackson, Time, 23 June 2026 And ultimately, the premise of the show is insane horror tropes are happening to boring, normal people. — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 18 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for boring
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boring
  1. tiring
  2. drilling
  3. pushing
  4. wearying
  5. stupid
  6. piercing
  7. squeezing
  8. exhausting
Adjective
  • Of course, the players were tiring, and Argentina were always going to respond, but Tuchel’s substitutions made England passive.
    — The Athletic UK Staff, New York Times, 16 July 2026
  • But just like fashion, the world of Instagrammable food proved tiring too.
    — Violet Conroy, Vogue, 15 July 2026
Definition of tiring
Verb
  • Portugal’s second goal against Uzbekistan in the group stage added even more variety to the mix, with Bruno Fernandes drilling a low effort towards three runners at the near post.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 14 July 2026
  • The Fever guard, who was walking the Octagon at UFC 329 less than 24 hours earlier, caught fire for 20 points while drilling six of her seven attempts from beyond the arc.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 13 July 2026
Definition of drilling
Verb
  • The former youth pastor suspected of pushing his wife off a Utah cliff died by suicide in a very unusual way, said the sheriff who oversees Las Vegas’ jails.
    — Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 16 July 2026
  • As a car speeds up, the air resistance pushing against it increases and forces the engine to work harder, using more fuel to achieve the same speed.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 16 July 2026
Definition of pushing
Verb
  • Bram, his husband, has a demanding job at a museum in Rotterdam and Arnold’s bitterness has grown wearying.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
  • Even for those spared personal catastrophe, the broader atmosphere has been wearying; institutions strained, norms eroded, tempers short.
    — Phillip Halpern, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Jan. 2026
Definition of wearying
Adjective
  • There are plenty of videos from Yellowstone National Park involving tourists doing breathtakingly stupid things around wild animals.
    — Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 July 2026
  • Even when Romanzy goes off on how stupid and ugly Caleb is — and gossips that his parents abandoned him because something must be wrong with him — Mary goes along with it.
    — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 11 July 2026
Definition of stupid
Verb
  • Collins can’t make the same pivot without piercing the brand that carried him this far.
    — Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 20 July 2026
  • The documentary feature Noga, which premiered at the Tribeca Festival last month and is currently making the film-festival rounds, is as piercing as that shriek.
    — Marisa Fox, Rolling Stone, 16 July 2026
Definition of piercing
Verb
  • McGurk argued that, if the return of the hostages was the only way to end the war, then publicly squeezing Israel to protect civilians could paradoxically prolong the fighting, resulting in more Palestinian deaths.
    — David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
  • De la Fuente’s forwards press aggressively, while centre-backs Pau Cubarsi and Aymeric Laporte hold a high defensive line, squeezing the pitch and pinning their opponents back.
    — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 20 July 2026
Definition of squeezing
Verb
  • But there were hero moments here too, the same refusal to lose, the same team-work, the same selfless effort in exhausting physical conditions.
    — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 12 July 2026
  • The two young women at the center of the chamber piece that is Fruit Gathering face more challenges than hard work in a monotonous environment, including exhausting work, economic uncertainty and social repression.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026
Definition of exhausting

Browse Nearby Words

bore witness
boring
boringly
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Cite this Entry

“Boring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boring. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on boring

Nglish: Translation of boring for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about boring

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