dull

1 lacking sharpness of edge or point the dull knife just bounced off the skin of the tomato without cutting it Synonyms blunt, blunted, dulled, obtuse Related Words dullish; rounded, smooth; even, flat, flattened, level Near Antonyms jagged, needlelike, prickly, spiked, spikelike, spiky (also spikey), spiny; jabbing, lacerating, piercing, scratching, stabbing; ultrasharp Antonyms cutting, edged, edgy, ground, honed, keen, pointed, sharp, sharpened, whetted

2 causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest a dull dance recital that made us wish that we were someplace else Synonyms arid, colorless, drab, dreary, drudging, dry, boring, dusty, flat, heavy, ho-hum, humdrum, jading, jejune, leaden, mind-numbing, monochromatic, monotonous, numbing, old, pedestrian, ponderous, slow, stale, stodgy, stuffy, stupid, tame, tedious, tiresome, tiring, uninteresting, wearisome, weary, wearyingRelated Words aseptic, barren, blah, dullish, pleasureless, prosaic, prosy, soggy, spiritless; blank, earthbound, gray (also grey), inanimate, pallid, pedantic, sterile, suspenseless, undramatic, uneventful, unexciting, unimaginative, uninspiring, unnewsworthy, unrewarding, unsensational, unspectacular; annoying, bothersome, irksome, irritating; longsome; palling; draining, enervating, exhausting, fatiguing, wearing; debilitating, enfeebling; demoralizing, discouraging, disheartening, dispiriting; common, commonplace, ordinary, tepid, unexceptional, unsurprising, vapid; cumbersome, lumbering, plodding, poky (or pokey)Near Antonyms amazing, astonishing, astounding, awesome, eye-opening, fabulous, marvelous (or marvellous), sensational, spectacular, surprising, wonderful, wondrous; animating, breathtaking, electrifying, energizing, enlivening, exciting, exhilarating, galvanizing, hair-raising, inspiring, invigorating, rip-roaring, rousing, stimulating, stirring, thrilling; amusing, diverting, entertaining; moving, poignant, touching; alluring, attracting, attractive, beguiling, bewitching, captivating, charming, enchanting, enthralling, entrancing, fascinating; mesmerizing, spellbinding; suspenseful; arresting, provocative, tantalizingAntonyms absorbing, engaging, engrossing, gripping, interesting, intriguing, involving, riveting

3 covered over by clouds dull skies plagued most of our vacation days at the beach Synonyms beclouded, clouded, cloudy, overcast, hazed, hazy, heavy, lowering (also louring), overcloudedRelated Words bedimmed, befogged, blackened, darkened, darksome, dim, dimmed, dulled, dusky, misty, murky, obscure, obscured, overshadowed; sunless; black, bleak, cheerless, dark, desolate, dismal, drear, dreary, funereal, gloomy, glum, gray (also grey), sepulchral, somber (or sombre), sullenNear Antonyms sunlit, sunny, sunshiny; brightened, brilliant, dazzling, illuminated, illumined, lit (or lighted), lightened, radiant, shinyAntonyms clear, cloudless

4 lacking a surface luster or gloss a good polish should restore that car's dull finish Synonyms dim, matte, dulled, flat, lusterlessRelated Words tarnished, unpolished; cloudy, dingy, dirty, drab, lackluster, mousy (or mousey), muddy; gray (also grey), leaden, pale, palish; black, dark, darkened, darkish, dimmed, dusky, gloomy, murky, obscure, obscured, pitch-black, pitch-dark, somber (or sombre), stygian, tenebrific, tenebrousNear Antonyms buffed, burnished, glazed, lacquered, polished, rubbed, shellacked, varnished; satin, satiny; silken, silky; slick, slippery; gemmy, gleaming, glimmering, glinting, glistening, glittering, scintillating, shimmering, shining, sparkling, twinkling; beaming, bedazzling, bright, brightened, brilliant, candescent, dazzling, effulgent, fulgent, glowing, incandescent, lambent, lucent, lucid, luminous, radiant, refulgent, resplendent, shiningAntonyms glossy, lustrous, shiny, sleek

5 lacking intensity of color that canvas shirt should fade to an attractive, dull red over time Synonyms pale, dulled, faded, light, pastel, washed-out, washyRelated Words flat, lackluster, lusterless, matte (also mat or matt); dim, faint; dirty, muddy; achromatic, colorless, uncolored, undyed, unpainted, unstained; blanched, bleached, washed, white, whitened; gray (also grey), indistinct, neutralNear Antonyms bright, brilliant, vibrant, vivid; chromatic, colored, dyed, painted, stained, tinged, tinted; colorful, motley, multicolored, polychromatic, polychrome, prismatic, rainbow, varicolored, variegated; flashy, garish, gaudy, loud, showy, splashyAntonyms dark, deep, gay, rich

6 not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily the importance of the discovery was lost on the dull minds of his colleagues Synonyms airheaded, birdbrained, bonehead, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey (also dopy), dorky [slang], stupid, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, gormless [chiefly British], half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain (or lamebrained), lunkheaded, mindless, oafish, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, senseless, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, thick, thickheaded, thick-witted, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded, witlessRelated Words cretinous, feebleminded, simpleminded; boobish, foolish, idiotic (also idiotical), imbecile (or imbecilic), moronic; ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, untaught, unthinking; absurd, asinine, balmy, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, featherheaded, fool, half-baked, harebrained, insane, kooky (also kookie), loony (also looney), lunatic, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, silly, tomfool, unwise, wacky (also whacky), zany; fallacious, illogical, invalid, irrational, unreasonableNear Antonyms ingenious, resourceful; acute, astute, discerning, insightful, keen, knowing, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sage, sapient, savvy, wise; cerebral, erudite, highbrow, intellectual, knowledgeable, learned, literate, scholarly, thinking, well-read; educated, informed, schooled, skilled, trained; crafty, cunning, foxy, shrewd, wily; judicious, prudent, sane, sensible, sound; logical, rational, reasonable, validAntonyms apt, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, fast, hyperintelligent, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp, sharp-witted, smart, supersmart, ultrasmart

7 not loud in pitch or volume a dull roar from the distance Synonyms soft, gentle, low, quietRelated Words dead, silent, still; calm, dreamy, hushed, peaceful, restful, serene, soothing, stilly, tranquil; muffled, muted, softened, toned (down)Near Antonyms brazen, crashing, dinning, discordant, noisy, obstreperous, raucous, rip-roaring, vociferous; grating, harsh, shrill, squealing, strident; clarion, clear, trumpetlikeAntonyms blaring, blasting, booming, clamorous, clangorous, deafening, earsplitting, loud, overloud, piercing, plangent, resounding, ringing, roaring, sonorous, stentorian, thundering, thunderous

8 slow to move or act a dull market for luxury goods this holiday season Synonyms inactive, inert, lethargic, quiescent, sleepy, sluggish, torpidRelated Words ambitionless, apathetic, indolent, languorous, lazy, lazyish, listless, shiftless, slack, slothful, sluggard, sluggardly; dormant, inanimate, motionless, resting, sedentary, static, still; dead; dopey (also dopy), drugged; asleep, drowsy, somnambulant; catatonic, comatoseNear Antonyms busy, engaged, occupied, working; animated, bouncing, dynamic, energetic, kinetic, lively, peppy, perky, spirited, sprightly, springy, vigorous, vital, vivacious, zippy; assiduous, diligent, hardworking, industrious, sedulousAntonyms active

1 to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling the aspirin dulled his headache and he was soon feeling better Synonyms benumb, blunt, cauterize, damp, dampen, deaden, numb Related Words muffle, mute, tone (down); decrease, diminish, lessen, let up (on), lower, reduce, subdue; debilitate, enfeeble, weaken; dwindle, recede, subside, taper (off), wane; alleviate, ease, lighten; abate, moderate Near Antonyms amplify, augment, beef (up), boost, consolidate, deepen, enhance, heighten, intensify, magnify, redouble, step up, strengthen; animate, arouse, stimulate Antonyms sharpen, whet

2 to make white or lighter by removing color the painting's once-vivid colors have been dulled by time Synonyms blanch, bleach, blench, decolorize, whiten, fade, pale, snow, wash outRelated Words brighten, lighten; dim, mat (also matte or matt); etiolate; whitewash; frost, silverNear Antonyms blacken; blotch, checker, dapple, daub, discolor, fleck, marble, mottle, pattern, polychrome, shade, speck, speckle, splotch, spot, streak, striate, stripe, tarnish, variegate; color, dye, paint, pigment, stain, tincture, tinge, tint; burnish, polish, shineAntonyms darken, deepen, embrown