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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grey
of the color gray
the leaden sky made everything seem dark and depressing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of leaden
Exhausted now, his blood pressure mounting, Cassidy sits heavily, leaden, on the edge of the bed.
—
Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
And treading water is making my legs and arms feel leaden.
—Lizz Schumer, People.com, 3 Mar. 2025
The subtext becomes text, and the film isn’t quite scary enough to make up for its mostly leaden message.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
But Betancourt’s approach feels leaden with reference and citation, too often leaning on a catalog of cultural properties to advance an argument that is, at its heart, empirical.
—Jake Nevins, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for leaden
Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
And treading water is making my legs and arms feel leaden.
—Lizz Schumer, People.com, 3 Mar. 2025
The subtext becomes text, and the film isn’t quite scary enough to make up for its mostly leaden message.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
But Betancourt’s approach feels leaden with reference and citation, too often leaning on a catalog of cultural properties to advance an argument that is, at its heart, empirical.
—Jake Nevins, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for leaden
Recent Examples of Synonyms for leaden
Adjective
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Farming takes so long and is so boring, some of us said.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
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The Clark County Fire Department said that tunnel boring operations had been temporarily halted at the site pending an ongoing accident investigation.—
Jessica Mathews,
Fortune,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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During the prelims in Tokyo, Seville had a concerning slow reaction to the starting gun.—
Katelyn Hutchison,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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Parisian servers may have an undeserved reputation for being slow, but instead of complaining or searching for faster service elsewhere, settle in with a book or newspaper.—
Lane Nieset,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Mary Anne MacLeod grew up in a suburb, a village called Tong — really just a cluster of houses, including the early 20th century squat gray stucco bungalow that was her family's home.—
Lauren Frayer,
NPR,
14 Sep. 2025
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On one hand, companies that enable gray-zone transactions face heightened scrutiny.—
Ilona Limonta-Volkova,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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While Schneider was expressing his feelings about the unknown state of Judge’s normally rocket arm, the Yankees seemed weary about answering these kind of inquiries.—
Larry Fleisher,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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Where Shy was the subject of Porter’s slender book — which is really more of a beat-poetry day-in-the-life monologue — the focus shifts here to the weary headmaster who’s been fighting on the students’ behalf all these years.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The Woodward Jacket is reimagined in fine Italian lambskin leather with a unique silver herringbone print, paying homage to traditional menswear fabrics, a brand staple.—
Cassell Ferere,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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Cut two ways, it will be shown in lace with a sheer jersey lining and in a silver metallic knit resembling the chainmail of the Knights Templar.—
Ari Stark,
Footwear News,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Early on, the dull chamber music of the Ferrari 296’s wide-angle V6 gas-electric hybrid powertrain was roundly criticized.—
Mark Ewing,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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Rather than efficiently dicing and slicing your produce, a dull knife actually requires more force, which can cause you or someone else in your household to get hurt.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Without a strict hierarchy or single decision-maker, our process can sometimes be slow, messy, or even tiring.—
Caterina De Biasio,
Vogue,
11 Sep. 2025
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The film is a mess, opaque in its argument and tiring in its effortful weirdness, and yet in its best moments has a hypnotic pull.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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And when Sam cooks up a truly stupid scheme to make some quick cash, there’s little doubt a heavy like Mickey isn’t going to like it.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
12 Sep. 2025
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There's a fine line between stupid and clever, indeed.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Leaden.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leaden. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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