leaden

adjective

ˈle-dᵊn How to pronounce leaden (audio)
Definition of leadennext
1
as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest a leaden performance of a classic American play that nearly put us to sleep

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in gray
of the color gray the leaden sky made everything seem dark and depressing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of leaden When Ronaldo took possession, the 41-year-old striker looked leaden. — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 18 June 2026 For how vibrant and buoyant the film’s cinematography, production design, and costume design are, the script and its laborious dialogue are twice as leaden. — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 23 May 2026 On a rainy morning the vistas are wild and windswept, both sea and sky taking on leaden hues; on a sunny afternoon, the blue waves roll towards the land in hypnotic lines, merging into the sky. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Apr. 2026 But there was nothing overstuffed or leaden about Harth-Bedoya’s interpretation. — Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 22 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for leaden
Recent Examples of Synonyms for leaden
  1. boring
  2. gray
  3. slow
  4. silver
  5. dull
  6. tiring
  7. weary
  8. stupid
Adjective
  • Harrison’s sociological portrait is attuned to the common idea that disaster can quickly become boring—or all too quickly assimilated and ignored.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Nov. 2026
  • No one is going to notice a boring man in chunky acetate frames.
    — Tyler Watamanuk, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of boring
Adjective
  • The cool-gray Georgetown men’s basketball team used a red-hot performance from deep to spark an 86-74 win over Maryland.
    — Des Bieler, Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2026
  • The Vatican said Saturday that another 10,000 had attended, despite the morning rain and blustery, gray skies.
    — ISABEL DEBRE, Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of gray
Adjective
  • Increasingly, there are elevated places to stay that preserve the soul of this place, opening in a slow trickle like Valbona Resort and Spa (2024) and SeSam Villas in Theth (2025).
    — Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Nov. 2026
  • The Bears jumped out to a 9-2 lead as USC was slow getting going offensively and committed three quick turnovers.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of slow
Adjective
  • Lady Eliza wore the silver number by Oscar de la Renta, featuring semi-sheer fabric beneath the crushed silver overlay with hints of botanical design elements throughout.
    — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Investigators were looking for a white or silver Mazda MPV minivan from the early 2000s or a similar vehicle, according to the CHP.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of silver
Adjective
  • Just like many of his neighbors, the sound of the Delciello’s bell sent Carmody scrambling to round up tools and knives that needed their dull blades refreshed.
    — Susan DeGrane, Chicago Tribune, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Spend your peak time on low-value work, and your axe will be dull for everything that counts.
    — Jeremy Macliver, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of dull
Adjective
  • Using a touch screen even makes sense for limited interaction by digital content editors of all stripes, but reaching across the keyboard a lot is tiring, as with any touch laptop.
    — Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Forget your previous experience—many of us think that exercise should be tiring and painful to work.
    — Laura Solla, Vogue, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of tiring
Adjective
  • However, not everyone shared that sense of relief or the weary desire to move fully on from the war.
    — Connor Okeeffe, Oc Register, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Written and directed by Sun Aoqian, the film stars Song Jia as a weary crematorium worker who accidentally mixes up two sets of funeral ashes.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 9 Nov. 2026
Definition of weary
Adjective
  • That new development was in conjunction with head coach and top coordinator salaries that went from stupid to offensive.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Nov. 2026
  • In the end, that was stupid, because these things were actually trapped.
    — Nilay Patel, The Verge, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of stupid

Browse Nearby Words

lead
leaden
leader
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Leaden.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leaden. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All