Synonyms of dull

dull 1 of 2

adjective

ˈdəl 

1

as in blunt

lacking sharpness of edge or point

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• blunt
• blunted
• dulled
• flattened
• obtuse
• rounded
• smooth
• dullish
• level
• flat
• even

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sharp
• edged
• edgy
• keen
• ground
• pointed
• cutting
• jagged
• sharpened
• honed
• spiky
• prickly
• spiny
• spiked
• needlelike
• scratching
• whetted
• piercing
• spikelike
• lacerating
• stabbing
• jabbing
• ultrasharp

2

as in boring

causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest

a dull dance recital that made us wish that we were someplace else

Synonyms & Similar Words

• boring
• tiring
• slow
• stupid
• weary
• dusty
• wearying
• old
• heavy
• dry
• annoying
• monotonous
• drab
• uninteresting
• tedious
• irritating
• tame
• humdrum
• dreary
• tiresome
• pedestrian
• colorless
• stodgy
• wearisome
• arid
• leaden
• monochromatic
• ponderous
• stale
• stuffy
• numbing
• ho-hum
• jejune
• pallid
• flat
• mind-numbing
• exhausting
• sterile
• drudging
• dullish
• barren
• unexciting
• blah
• jading
• blank
• gray
• unimaginative
• spiritless
• prosaic
• prosy
• uneventful
• uninspiring
• soggy
• unrewarding
• irksome
• unspectacular
• draining
• undramatic
• bothersome
• pedantic
• unsensational
• inanimate
• earthbound
• fatiguing
• aseptic
• ordinary
• debilitating
• vapid
• discouraging
• common
• commonplace
• dispiriting
• unexceptional
• cumbersome
• wearing
• suspenseless
• tepid
• pleasureless
• unnewsworthy
• enervating
• disheartening
• unsurprising
• plodding
• demoralizing
• poky
• longsome
• lumbering
• palling
• enfeebling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• interesting
• intriguing
• wonderful
• involving
• engaging
• surprising
• riveting
• exciting
• spectacular
• engrossing
• wondrous
• amazing
• absorbing
• marvelous
• gripping
• awesome
• sensational
• astonishing
• amusing
• exhilarating
• stimulating
• inspiring
• entertaining
• fabulous
• astounding
• thrilling
• breathtaking
• attractive
• electrifying
• rousing
• charming
• energizing
• stirring
• fascinating
• poignant
• alluring
• moving
• enlivening
• enchanting
• enthralling
• invigorating
• animating
• beguiling
• touching
• entrancing
• bewitching
• attracting
• eye-opening
• rip-roaring
• galvanizing
• provocative
• hair-raising
• diverting
• suspenseful
• captivating
• tantalizing
• mesmerizing
• spellbinding
• arresting

3

as in hazy

covered over by clouds

dull skies plagued most of our vacation days at the beach

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hazy
• darkened
• clouded
• misty
• murky
• gray
• overcast
• bleak
• cloudy
• dark
• heavy
• lowering
• dulled
• hazed
• dim
• blackened
• overclouded
• beclouded
• obscure
• dusky
• dimmed
• obscured
• black
• dreary
• cheerless
• gloomy
• darksome
• sullen
• somber
• dismal
• desolate
• glum
• overshadowed
• drear
• befogged
• bedimmed
• sepulchral
• funereal
• sunless

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• clear
• cloudless
• sunny
• sunlit
• brilliant
• shiny
• sunshiny
• dazzling
• radiant
• illuminated
• lit
• lightened
• brightened
• illumined

4

as in dulled

lacking a surface luster or gloss

a good polish should restore that car's dull finish

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dulled
• lusterless
• matte
• flat
• gray
• dim
• pale
• dark
• drab
• lackluster
• unpolished
• black
• dingy
• tarnished
• muddy
• darkened
• mousy
• leaden
• cloudy
• gloomy
• dirty
• somber
• dusky
• obscured
• murky
• obscure
• dimmed
• darkish
• palish
• pitch-black
• pitch-dark
• tenebrous
• stygian
• tenebrific

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• shiny
• glossy
• sleek
• lustrous
• polished
• rubbed
• burnished
• varnished
• glazed
• lacquered
• satin
• silky
• satiny
• slick
• slippery
• shining
• silken
• brilliant
• bright
• gleaming
• sparkling
• buffed
• dazzling
• glistening
• shellacked
• luminous
• shimmering
• radiant
• incandescent
• lucid
• resplendent
• twinkling
• glowing
• effulgent
• lucent
• lambent
• glittering
• scintillating
• brightened
• glimmering
• glinting
• refulgent
• fulgent
• gemmy
• candescent
• bedazzling
• beaming

5

as in faded

lacking intensity of color

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• faded
• pale
• dulled
• light
• faint
• washy
• pastel
• neutral
• washed-out
• lusterless
• lackluster
• gray
• dim
• white
• muddy
• dirty
• matte
• colorless
• bleached
• flat
• achromatic
• indistinct
• washed
• unpainted
• uncolored
• unstained
• blanched
• undyed
• whitened

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dark
• rich
• deep
• brilliant
• bright
• vivid
• gay
• vibrant
• colored
• stained
• colorful
• painted
• chromatic
• tinged
• tinted
• dyed
• loud
• rainbow
• prismatic
• variegated
• gaudy
• showy
• flashy
• multicolored
• garish
• varicolored
• polychromatic
• motley
• splashy
• polychrome

6

as in dumb

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 & Similar Words

• dumb
• stupid
• slow
• simple
• thick
• dense
• foolish
• dim
• ignorant
• vacuous
• soft
• idiotic
• unintelligent
• obtuse
• silly
• dopey
• opaque
• fatuous
• mindless
• witless
• doltish
• senseless
• thickheaded
• unreasonable
• brain-dead
• brainless
• dorky
• mad
• irrational
• oafish
• insane
• crazy
• gormless
• weak-minded
• dim-witted
• boneheaded
• empty-headed
• slow-witted
• thick-witted
• bonehead
• dunderheaded
• pinheaded
• lamebrain
• airheaded
• lunkheaded
• bubbleheaded
• unsmart
• softheaded
• moronic
• half-witted
• chuckleheaded
• knuckleheaded
• absurd
• unintellectual
• feebleminded
• simpleminded
• birdbrained
• uneducated
• imbecile
• cretinous
• uninformed
• fool
• unthinking
• untaught
• illiterate
• illogical
• zany
• lowbrow
• wacky
• nonsensical
• dippy
• cuckoo
• sappy
• nutty
• daft
• unwise
• loony
• asinine
• kooky
• daffy
• invalid
• preposterous
• balmy
• dotty
• fallacious
• screwball
• boobish
• harebrained
• crackpot
• half-baked
• cockeyed
• tomfool
• featherheaded

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• bright
• brilliant
• sharp
• quick
• intelligent
• apt
• clever
• fast
• smart
• keen
• acute
• wise
• ingenious
• nimble
• cerebral
• intellectual
• resourceful
• thinking
• insightful
• keen
• perceptive
• knowing
• brainy
• astute
• sagacious
• savvy
• erudite
• knowledgeable
• scholarly
• quick-witted
• sage
• literate
• discerning
• learned
• skilled
• ultrasmart
• sharp-witted
• sound
• supersmart
• informed
• hyperintelligent
• reasonable
• educated
• trained
• shrewd
• cunning
• sensible
• perspicacious
• highbrow
• crafty
• logical
• wily
• sapient
• valid
• percipient
• sane
• rational
• prudent
• judicious
• well-read
• foxy
• schooled

7

as in soft

not loud in pitch or volume

a dull roar from the distance

Synonyms & Similar Words

• soft
• quiet
• gentle
• hushed
• muffled
• low
• silent
• soothing
• serene
• dreamy
• restful
• still
• calm
• tranquil
• muted
• peaceful
• dead
• softened
• toned (down)
• stilly

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• loud
• sonorous
• thunderous
• clamorous
• booming
• noisy
• ringing
• deafening
• stentorian
• piercing
• thundering
• blasting
• roaring
• clangorous
• raucous
• earsplitting
• blaring
• resounding
• crashing
• brazen
• harsh
• vociferous
• shrill
• obstreperous
• discordant
• overloud
• plangent
• strident
• grating
• clear
• rip-roaring
• dinning
• squealing
• trumpetlike
• clarion

8

as in sleepy

slow to move or act

a dull market for luxury goods this holiday season

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sleepy
• sluggish
• lethargic
• inert
• torpid
• lazy
• inactive
• quiescent
• motionless
• listless
• resting
• static
• apathetic
• indolent
• shiftless
• languorous
• slothful
• dormant
• ambitionless
• inanimate
• slack
• still
• sedentary
• asleep
• drugged
• dopey
• drowsy
• dead
• lazyish
• sluggardly
• sluggard
• comatose
• catatonic
• somnambulant

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• active
• busy
• engaged
• occupied
• dynamic
• working
• vigorous
• lively
• energetic
• spirited
• vital
• kinetic
• vivacious
• animated
• sprightly
• bouncing
• perky
• industrious
• diligent
• peppy
• springy
• hardworking
• assiduous
• zippy
• sedulous

dull

2 of 2

verb

1

as in to blunt

to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling

the aspirin dulled his headache and he was soon feeling better

Synonyms & Similar Words

• blunt
• reduce
• damp
• deaden
• numb
• diminish
• dampen
• weaken
• benumb
• subside
• decrease
• subdue
• ease
• mute
• cauterize
• tone (down)
• alleviate
• muffle
• lighten
• lessen
• moderate
• let up (on)
• recede
• wane
• dwindle
• debilitate
• lower
• enfeeble
• taper (off)
• abate

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sharpen
• enhance
• strengthen
• intensify
• augment
• deepen
• consolidate
• stimulate
• step up
• boost
• amplify
• heighten
• whet
• magnify
• arouse
• beef (up)
• redouble
• animate

2

as in to bleach

to make white or lighter by removing color

the painting's once-vivid colors have been dulled by time

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bleach
• fade
• brighten
• pale
• snow
• whiten
• dim
• decolorize
• blanch
• blench
• lighten
• wash out
• silver
• frost
• mat
• whitewash
• etiolate

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• deepen
• darken
• streak
• pattern
• marble
• tarnish
• blacken
• striate
• shade
• discolor
• blotch
• spot
• paint
• pigment
• embrown
• speck
• speckle
• dye
• stripe
• shine
• tinge
• stain
• daub
• color
• tint
• polychrome
• polish
• fleck
• dapple
• tincture
• mottle
• burnish
• splotch
• variegate
• checker

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective dull differ from other similar words?

The words blunt and obtuse are common synonyms of dull. While all three words mean "not sharp, keen, or acute," dull suggests a lack or loss of keenness, zest, or pungency.

a dull pain

a dull mind

When can blunt be used instead of dull?

Although the words blunt and dull have much in common, blunt suggests an inherent lack of sharpness or quickness of feeling or perception.

a person of blunt sensibility

When is it sensible to use obtuse instead of dull?

The meanings of obtuse and dull largely overlap; however, obtuse implies such bluntness as makes one insensitive in perception or imagination.

too obtuse to take the hint

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of dull

Adjective

Baking soda has a mild, yet abrasive texture that can lift out stains causing your tiles to look dull without damaging the surface. —Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 2 May 2026

When the mower blades are dull, the lawn mower has to work harder to cut through every bit of grass, putting more stress on the engine. —Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 May 2026

Verb

Others report their taste buds feeling dulled. —Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 28 Apr. 2026

Knives can dull quickly when exposed to harsh detergents and high heat. —Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 28 Apr. 2026