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

dull

verb
 
/dʌl/
 
/dʌl/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they dull
 
/dʌl/
 
/dʌl/
he / she / it dulls
 
/dʌlz/
 
/dʌlz/
past simple dulled
 
/dʌld/
 
/dʌld/
past participle dulled
 
/dʌld/
 
/dʌld/
-ing form dulling
 
/ˈdʌlɪŋ/
 
/ˈdʌlɪŋ/
jump to other results

    pain

  1. [transitive, intransitive] dull (something) to make a pain or an emotion weaker or less severe; to become weaker or less severe
    • The tablets they gave him dulled the pain for a while.
    • The heat dulled my enjoyment of the journey.
    • The pain of loss never dulls.
  2. person

  3. [transitive] dull somebody to make a person slower or less lively
    • He felt dulled and stupid with sleep.
  4. colours/sounds

  5. [intransitive, transitive] to become less bright, clean or sharp; to make something less bright, clean or sharp
    • His eyes dulled and he slumped to the ground.
    • dull something The endless rain seemed to dull all sound.
  6. 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 Dictionary
previously
adverb
 
 
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