as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest
she leads a humdrum life that will never be made into a major motion picture a humdrum meal
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in monotony
a tedious lack of variety
loathed the humdrum of daily life in a small town
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of humdrum
Belinda Luscombe, Time, 6 Dec. 2025
Poised at the end of a humdrum interglacial, in an otherwise chilly corner of Earth history, industrial civilization is emitting carbon dioxide at a clip 10 times faster than the apocalyptic volcanoes of the end-Permian mass extinction.
—Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Rachel Kurzius, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Certainly the humdrum of legislation or bureaucratic rule-marking is nothing like the gossipy speculation about who may or may not bid to lead California as its 41st governor.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for humdrum
Adjective
Not all of them were hits, but nearly all of them were worth stopping and really looking at, a burst of visual peculiarity in an often humdrum urban streetscape.
—Belinda Luscombe, Time, 6 Dec. 2025
Poised at the end of a humdrum interglacial, in an otherwise chilly corner of Earth history, industrial civilization is emitting carbon dioxide at a clip 10 times faster than the apocalyptic volcanoes of the end-Permian mass extinction.
—Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Noun
No, no, nothing as humdrum as all that.
—Rachel Kurzius, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Certainly the humdrum of legislation or bureaucratic rule-marking is nothing like the gossipy speculation about who may or may not bid to lead California as its 41st governor.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for humdrum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humdrum
Adjective
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Crank up some music and have a dance party during an otherwise boring moment.—
Margery D. Rosen,
Parents,
5 Mar. 2026
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At this point, the UConn-dominance-is-boring crowd has had years to debate during the reigns of several incredible players.—
Chantel Jennings,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Advertisement Jisoo as Seo Mi-rae Courtesy of Netflix More specifically, Boyfriend on Demand is a meta exploration of how many women use story-worlds as a cathartic, sometimes productive escape from the monotony and demands of their offline routines.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
6 Mar. 2026
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Greg decides to shake off the monotony of his life by taking a position as Writer in Residence at the prestigious (fictional) Ludlow College.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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But this relief rally may be tiring for now and the optimal reward seems skewed to the downside.—
Jay Woods,
CNBC,
5 Mar. 2026
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Flying can be tiring, but apparently not as tiring as seeing passengers in pajamas – at least according to one airport.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Experiment with different seasonings to minimize boredom and flavor fatigue.—
Amy Brownstein,
Verywell Health,
3 Mar. 2026
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As a result, the remote operators experience extreme swings in workload: sometimes overwhelming intensity, sometimes crushing boredom.—
Missy Cummings,
IEEE Spectrum,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The news went wild on Twitter, with people meme-ing the hell out of the exceedingly dull headline.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
12 Mar. 2026
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If your home is primarily filled with neutrals and feels a bit dull, try introducing a few colorful accents.—
Tessa Cooper,
Southern Living,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Amore approaches the song with all the vocal ferocity of a wind chime; MORI’s chorus repeats the title phrase in monotone.—
E.R. Pulgar,
Pitchfork,
10 Mar. 2026
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Here is an echoey and relatively quiet limestone room full of people — Mondragon’s deep laconic monotone would attract attention in a second.—
Christopher Borrelli,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Council members LaWana Slack-Mayfield, Malcolm Graham and Joi Mayo, whose west Charlotte District 3 contains most of the affected part of I-77, pressed the agency on its slow responses to their questions, asked in November, shortly after NCDOT released its maps for the first time.—
Nick Sullivan,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Mar. 2026
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The jokes and musical bits are amusing but not groundbreaking, and the story is too light and slow to have a real impact.—
Rachel Simon,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Something weary about his body too.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Mar. 2026
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Its 1959 Googie-style sign pierces the sky, a beacon of hope for weary road-trippers cruising this achingly lonely stretch of highway.—
Zoey Goto,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Humdrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humdrum. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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