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Definition of dull adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

dull

adjective
 
 
/dʌl/
 
/dʌl/
(comparative duller, superlative dullest)
Idioms
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    boring

  1.  
    not interesting or exciting synonym dreary
    • Life in a small town could be deadly dull.
    • The countryside was flat, dull and uninteresting.
    • The first half of the game was pretty dull.
    • There's never a dull moment when John's around.
    Synonyms boringboringdull ▪ tediousThese words all describe a subject, activity, person or place that is not interesting or exciting.boring not interesting; making you feel tired and impatient:
    • He’s such a boring man!
    • She found her job very boring.
    dull not interesting or exciting:
    • Life in a small town could be deadly dull.
    tedious lasting or taking too long and not interesting, so that you feel bored and impatient:
    • The journey soon became tedious.
    Patterns
    • to be boring/​dull/​tedious for somebody
    • boring/​dull/​tedious subjects/​books
    • boring/​dull/​tedious jobs/​work/​games
    • a boring/​dull place/​man/​woman/​person
    • deadly boring/​dull
    Extra Examples
    • The long lectures made the afternoon dull.
    • The movie was long and deadly dull.
    • The work gets a bit dull at times.
    • He is the author of several dull novels.
    • We've had a dull start to the season.
    • There's never a dull moment in this job.
    Topics Feelingsb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • appear
    • be
    • look
    • …
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    • …
    See full entry
    2.

    light/colours

  2.  
    not bright or shiny
    • a dull grey colour
    • dull, lifeless hair
    • Her eyes were dull.
    • The fire died down to a dull glow.
    Topics Colours and Shapesc1

    3. weather

  3.  
    not bright, with a lot of clouds synonym overcast
    • It was a dull, grey day.
    • The town seemed deserted in the dull afternoon light.
    Topics Weatherc1

    4. sounds

  4.  
    not clear or loud
    • The gates shut behind him with a dull thud.
    5.

    pain

  5.  
    not very severe, but continuous
    • a dull ache/pain
    6.

    person

  6. slow in understanding synonym stupid
    • a dull pupil
    7.

    trade

  7. (especially North American English) not busy; slow
    • Don't sell into a dull market.
    8. Word OriginOld English dol ‘stupid’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch dol ‘crazy’ and German toll ‘mad, fantastic, wonderful’.
See dull in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee dull in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: dull

Nearby words

hat-trick
noun
 
 
From the Topic
Sports
C2
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