1
as in dimly
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2
as in sluggishly
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Recent Examples of dully
His audiences stare back at him, dully hostile.
—
Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 14 May 2026
As a result, unlike what his name would suggest, Unique is a fairly generic loner who dully seeks vengeance.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
For a dully cynical take on the OnlyFans economy, there’s Euphoria, but for a more affirming consideration, Margo is well worth the subscription.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
If people in the old days really talked so slowly and dully, more would have died of boredom than of disease.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2026
Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 14 May 2026
As a result, unlike what his name would suggest, Unique is a fairly generic loner who dully seeks vengeance.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
For a dully cynical take on the OnlyFans economy, there’s Euphoria, but for a more affirming consideration, Margo is well worth the subscription.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026
If people in the old days really talked so slowly and dully, more would have died of boredom than of disease.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dully
Adverb
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Winter or summer, logs as big as Popeye’s biceps smolder in the grand fireplace of the dimly lit, deep-blue map room to ensure the theatrical cosiness stays cranked up to 11.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 May 2026
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Those comments, viewed dimly by some German politicians, prompted the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), which bankrolls and oversees the Berlinale, to call an impromptu meeting to discuss the future of the Berlinale and Tricia Tuttle’s leadership as festival director.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
10 May 2026
Adverb
-
Polaritons move relatively sluggishly—around 100 times slower than the speed of light.—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
30 Apr. 2026
-
He was beaten from distance for the first goal, moving sluggishly as a shot dropped into his far corner.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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This is the year that the Bob Baker Marionettes — whose hipster cred and general renown increased when the theater moved to Highland Park from its longtime home tucked obscurely west of downtown — played Coachella.—
Television Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Apr. 2026
-
There’s a novella of a wine list, with by-the-glass options obscurely scrawled on a mirror above the bar.—
Charlie Hobbs,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
There’s a ceiling fan turning lazily.—
AFAR Media,
AFAR Media,
11 May 2026
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The beats lazily play into aughts pastiche, ignoring the 15 years of mutation that have morphed trap into plugg, rage, drill, and SahBabii.—
Stephen Kearse,
Pitchfork,
21 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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The race there begins somberly in the museum before runners bound up one flight of stairs into a hallway that leads into the main stairwell; from there, the steps settle into continuous, shallow right turns providing a repetitive, hypnotic cadence.—
Michelle Sinclair Colman,
Curbed,
7 May 2026
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The music came back on, and the men danced somberly to wedding music.—
Aidan McLaughlin,
Vanity Fair,
26 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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For minimal pay, the démineurs face death daily, lethargically; their work is so methodical, and its payoff so distant, that no one really celebrates them.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Adverb
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Activist spirits might dismiss this emphasis on the purely sonic as a strategy of avoidance, although the likes of Feizabadi and Kourliandski can’t be accused of sitting idly by.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
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The spouses correct each other’s grammar, natter about a razor, idly wonder if Martin might have Alzheimer’s.—
Steven Winn,
San Francisco Chronicle,
3 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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At least four officers stood by during the assaults, while two others halfheartedly attempted to break them up.—
Jason Henry,
Daily News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
The rise of disco in the mid-1970s prompted too many soul-music greats to halfheartedly jump on the bandwagon.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dully. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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