dull

Universal Words adjective, verb adjective (duller, dullest) boring 1 not interesting or exciting: 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. light / colours 2 not bright or shiny: a dull colour / glow * dull, lifeless hair * Her eyes were dull with dark shadows beneath them. sounds 3 not clear or loud: The gates shut behind him with a dull thud. weather 4 not bright, with a lot of clouds: It was a dull, grey day. pain 5 not very severe, but continuous: a dull ache / pain person 6 slow in understanding SYNSTUPID: a dull pupil / class / mind trade 7 (especially AmE) not busy; slow: Don't sell into a dull market. dullness noun [U]: the dullness of modern architecture dully adverb: 'I suppose so,' she said dully. * His leg ached dully. IDIOMS (as) dull as ditchwater (BrE) (AmE )as( dull as dishwater) extremely boring: I always found history as dull as ditchwater. verb pain 1 (of pain or an emotion) to become or be made weaker or less severe: [VN] The tablets they gave him dulled the pain for a while. [also V] person 2 [VN] (written) to make a person slower or less lively: He felt dulled and stupid with sleep. colours, sounds 3 to become or to make sth less bright, clean or sharp: [V] His eyes dulled and he slumped to the ground. * [VN] The endless rain seemed to dull all sound.