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
Skyler Trepel September 1, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
With his life on the poetry circuit a distant memory, Saxberger is suddenly propelled out of his humdrum life, when he is ‘rediscovered’ by a group of young admirers wallowing in nostalgia for the lost downtown New York of the late 1970s and early ’80s.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2025
Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for humdrum
Adjective
On his deathbed, Harold suggests their seemingly humdrum cousin Arthur (Justin Timberlake) as the only other possible heir.
—Skyler Trepel September 1, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
With his life on the poetry circuit a distant memory, Saxberger is suddenly propelled out of his humdrum life, when he is ‘rediscovered’ by a group of young admirers wallowing in nostalgia for the lost downtown New York of the late 1970s and early ’80s.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2025
Noun
This horror film from director Na Hong-jin is set in a quiet rural village in South Korea, where bumbling police officer Jong-goo (Kwak Do-won) goes about his everyday work in a humdrum manner.
—Travis Bean, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for humdrum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for humdrum
Adjective
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Despite looking like a fighter pilot who could win a game of dogfight football, Colin isn’t framed as a temptation for Marissa, and a lack of sexy secrets proves to be a recurring blind spot for the series, even if those two have plenty of other skeletons in their massive, boring closets.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
6 Nov. 2025
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All this after Fern just wanted to renovate her boring bookseller life by starting over next to her orc pal Viv’s coffee shop!—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Combs' Halloween menu reads like the ghost of a feast, stripped bare of decadence but still precise in its monotony.—
Danielle Bacher,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
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Zoom founder Eric Yuan even outsourced the monotony to an artificial intelligence (AI) avatar.—
Richard Torrenzano,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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As that number decreases, exercises such as running and cycling will feel more challenging and tiring, and your endurance may decline as well.—
Alyssa Ages,
Outside,
23 Oct. 2025
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But Braun was solid before tiring and working through injuries that affected him on the ball over the final month last season.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Every child benefits from practicing waiting, joining conversation and managing boredom in everyday settings.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
-
So afternoon, for Gospodinov, is the time for boredom, memory, a kind of weightless solitude—and, now, the time for grief.—
James Wood,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Instead, watching Charles attempt to insert himself into the Garfield Administration by forging papers and sneaking into buildings feels repetitive and a bit dull.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
6 Nov. 2025
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Their life in Watertown had been ordinary, maybe even dull sometimes.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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These have been replaced by an endless monotone of heavy-handed highs.—
Jahan Marcu,
Rolling Stone,
23 Oct. 2025
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In the quiet hush of the neonatal intensive care unit at Shahjahanpur Medical College, the only constant sound was the monotone of the heart monitor, its low hum keeping watch over the baby sleeping inside the sterile incubator.—
Aishwarya S. Iyer,
CNN Money,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Hoover finished 319 yards on 34-of-50 passing, but his two turnovers were critical mistakes that led to TCU’s slow start in the first half.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Nov. 2025
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When visiting the exhibit, plan on taking your time to make the most of it, or what the American Federation of Arts calls slow looking.—
Susan B. Barnes,
Southern Living,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The show is a humorous, achingly accurate portrayal of two weary immigrant women who’ve seen the shiny promise of a better life wear off quick.—
Elizabeth B. Kim,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Nov. 2025
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Nevertheless, most inflation-weary Americans are upset with the economy because the cumulative effect of higher prices have been wreaking havoc on the economy for the past five years – not because of tariffs, specifically.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Humdrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/humdrum. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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