drab 1 of 2

Definition of drabnext
as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest the new city hall promises to be another drab pile of masonry for the town

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drab

2 of 2

noun

as in prostitute
a woman who engages in sexual activities for money in its time, this waterfront dive was decried as a den of iniquity, unfit even for the drunks and drabs who haunted it

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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 drab
Adjective
Most ingredients can be reused, but pay attention to fading scents and wilted, drab colors. Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 15 Jan. 2026 And that eye could see past Dorothy’s drab uniform and Cindy Brady pigtails, her tall girl’s diffidence and her sweet girl’s shyness, to the bombshell smoldering underneath. Lili Anolik, Vanity Fair, 12 Jan. 2026
Noun
The Midi Dress Midi dresses are the opposite of drab at the moment. Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 18 Mar. 2025 Early mammals were small, strictly nocturnal, and altogether less showy–verging on downright drab, as supported by a study published March 13 in the journal Science. Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 13 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for drab
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drab
Adjective
  • Shopping on a budget doesn't have to be boring.
    Averi Baudler, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026
  • For the boring old textbook reason of shifting interest rate differentials.
    Kelly Evans, CNBC, 29 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Andrei also reveals that Galyna (Sophia Shkliaruk), one of the Russian women whose murder the ladies were investigating, wasn’t a prostitute, but a KGB agent.
    Barry Levitt, Time, 16 Jan. 2026
  • Shakespeare shouldn’t feel intimidating—historically, his plays were loud and chaotic, with drunk spectators and prostitutes in the audience.
    Ben Croll, Variety, 15 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • And that is gratifying after two episodes of somewhat dull table-setting.
    Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
  • All in all, 2026 asks you to grow up without growing dull or losing your sense of wonder.
    Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Well, yes, there were also hookers and tequila girls and whatever else was going on in those offices.
    Lacey Rose, HollywoodReporter, 17 Nov. 2025
  • Making the cut, however, is not enough for good ratings, and so the Network creates a fake new clickbait backstory for Richards, painting him as a deadbeat dad with a hooker for a wife.
    Damon Wise, Deadline, 11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • When Jensen was tiring of running her own business, her little brother did her the same favor of helping her land a job with the cannabis dispensary From The Earth at their Brookside location, where she was quickly hired and loved by her coworkers.
    PJ Green January 7, Kansas City Star, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Although Richardson has only appeared in 25 of the 36 contests so far in his rookie campaign, the near first-half of his first year as a professional has been tiring for the 20-year-old who’s continued to adjust to his new life in Orlando.
    Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • The hotel’s contemporary concrete architecture acts as a bracing-yet-beautiful contrast to the dusty rock plateaus, while many of its minimalist guest rooms come with private plunge pools that look out to the horizon.
    Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Windowsills get dusty really fast when dry air causes static electricity in your home.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Some folks who were moving a little slow, some folks wanted to dilute the Canadiana or the Big C Canadian of it.
    Ben Smith, semafor.com, 31 Jan. 2026
  • In practice, the process is slow, burdensome, and uncertain.
    James Broughel, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Thirty years of closure didn’t slow down progress Despite more than half a century of entertainment, the State Theatre closed in 1990 as other movie theaters started popping up and the mechanics of the building became weary.
    Angela George, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 23 Jan. 2026
  • Every imaginable class is on offer at the state-of-the-art fitness center and movement studios and weary muscles can be revived by hitting the Springhouse Circuit, which includes a salt room, cedar sauna, hyperbaric oxygen chamber, tepidarium, and cold plunge.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Drab.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drab. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.

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