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dull

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of dull

1 lacking sharpness of edge or point

  • the dull knife just bounced off the skin of the tomato without cutting it
Synonyms of dull

blunt, blunted, dulled, obtuse
Words Related to dull

dullish

rounded, smooth

even, flat, flattened, level
Near Antonyms of dull

jagged, needlelike, prickly, spiked, spikelike, spiky (also spikey), spiny

jabbing, lacerating, piercing, scratching, stabbing

ultrasharp
Antonyms of dull

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 of dull

arid, boring, colorless, drab, dreary, drudging, dry, 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, wearying
Words Related to dull

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 of dull

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, tantalizing
Antonyms of dull

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 of dull

beclouded, clouded, cloudy, hazed, hazy, heavy, lowering (also louring), overcast, overclouded
Words Related to dull

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), sullen
Near Antonyms of dull

sunlit, sunny, sunshiny

brightened, brilliant, dazzling, illuminated, illumined, lit (or lighted), lightened, radiant, shiny
Antonyms of dull

clear, cloudless

4 lacking a surface luster or gloss

  • a good polish should restore that carʼs dull finish
Synonyms of dull

dim, dulled, flat, lusterless, matte (also mat)
Words Related to dull

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, tenebrous
Near Antonyms of dull

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, shining
Antonyms of dull

glossy, lustrous, shiny, sleek

5 lacking intensity of color

  • that canvas shirt should fade to an attractive, dull red over time
Synonyms of dull

dulled, faded, light, pale, pastel, washed-out, washy
Words Related to dull

flat, lackluster, lusterless, matte (also mat)

dim, faint

dirty, muddy

achromatic, colorless, uncolored, undyed, unpainted, unstained

blanched, bleached, washed, white, whitened

gray (also grey), indistinct, neutral
Near Antonyms of dull

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, splashy
Antonyms of dull

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 of dull

airheaded, birdbrained, bonehead, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey (also dopy), dorky [slang], 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, stupid, thick, thick-witted, thickheaded, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded, witless
Words Related to dull

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, unreasonable
Near Antonyms of dull

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, valid
Antonyms of dull

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 of dull

gentle, low, quiet, soft
Words Related to dull

dead, silent, still

calm, dreamy, hushed, peaceful, restful, serene, soothing, stilly, tranquil

muffled, muted, softened, toned (down)
Near Antonyms of dull

brazen, crashing, dinning, discordant, noisy, obstreperous, raucous, rip-roaring, vociferous

grating, harsh, shrill, squealing, strident

clarion, clear, trumpetlike
Antonyms of dull

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 of dull

inactive, inert, lethargic, quiescent, sleepy, sluggish, torpid
Words Related to dull

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, comatose
Near Antonyms of dull

busy, engaged, occupied, working

animated, bouncing, dynamic, energetic, kinetic, lively, peppy, perky, spirited, sprightly, springy, vigorous, vital, vivacious, zippy

assiduous, diligent, hardworking, industrious, sedulous
Antonyms of dull

active

Synonym Discussion of dull

dull, blunt, obtuse mean not sharp, keen, or acute. dull suggests a lack or loss of keenness, zest, or pungency.
    • a dull pain
    • a dull mind
blunt suggests an inherent lack of sharpness or quickness of feeling or perception.
    • a person of blunt sensibility
obtuse implies such bluntness as makes one insensitive in perception or imagination.
    • too obtuse to take the hint

synonyms see in addition stupid

dull

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of dull

1 to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling

  • the aspirin dulled his headache and he was soon feeling better
Synonyms of dull

benumb, blunt, cauterize, damp, dampen, deaden, numb
Words Related to dull

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 of dull

amplify, augment, beef (up), boost, consolidate, deepen, enhance, heighten, intensify, magnify, redouble, step up, strengthen

animate, arouse, stimulate
Antonyms of dull

sharpen, whet

2 to make white or lighter by removing color

  • the painting's once-vivid colors have been dulled by time
Synonyms of dull

blanch, bleach, blench, decolorize, fade, pale, snow, wash out, whiten
Words Related to dull

brighten, lighten

dim, mat (also matte)

etiolate

whitewash

frost, silver
Near Antonyms of dull

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, shine
Antonyms of dull

darken, deepen, embrown

Learn More about dull

  1. See words that rhyme with dull Dictionary: Definition of dull Medical Dictionary: Definition of dull Spanish Central: Translation of dull Nglish: Translation of dull for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of dull for Arabic speakers

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