dull (
http://definr.com/dull)
adj 1: lacking in liveliness or animation; "he was so dull at
parties"; "a dull political campaign"; "a large dull
impassive man"; "dull days with nothing to do"; "how
dull and dreary the world is"; "fell back into one of
her dull moods" [ant:
lively]
2: emitting or reflecting very little light; "a dull glow";
"dull silver badly in need of a polish"; "a dull sky"
[ant:
bright]
3: being or made softer or less loud or clear; "the dull boom
of distant breaking waves"; "muffled drums"; "the muffled
noises of the street"; "muted trumpets" [syn:
muffled,
muted,
softened]
4: so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness; "a
boring evening with uninteresting people"; "the deadening
effect of some routine tasks"; "a dull play"; "his
competent but dull performance"; "a ho-hum speaker who
couldn't capture their attention"; "what an irksome task
the writing of long letters is"- Edmund Burke; "tedious
days on the train"; "the tiresome chirping of a cricket"-
Mark Twain; "other people's dreams are dreadfully
wearisome" [syn:
boring,
deadening,
ho-hum,
irksome,
slow,
tedious,
tiresome,
wearisome]
5: (of color) very low in saturation; highly diluted; "dull
greens and blues"
6: not keenly felt; "a dull throbbing"; "dull pain" [ant:
sharp]
7: slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity;
"so dense he never understands anything I say to him";
"never met anyone quite so dim"; "although dull at
classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly
quick"- Thackeray; "dumb officials make some really dumb
decisions"; "he was either normally stupid or being
deliberately obtuse"; "worked with the slow students"
[syn:
dense,
dim,
dumb,
obtuse,
slow]
8: (of business) not active or brisk; "business is dull (or
slow)"; "a sluggish market" [syn:
slow,
sluggish]
9: not having a sharp edge or point; "the knife was too dull to
be of any use" [ant:
sharp]
10: blunted in responsiveness or sensibility; "a dull gaze"; "so
exhausted she was dull to what went on about her"- Willa
Cather
11: not clear and resonant; sounding as if striking with or
against something relatively soft; "the dull thud";
"thudding bullets"; "thumping feet on the carpeted
stairs" [syn:
thudding,
thumping]
12: darkened with overcast; "a dark day"; "a dull sky"; "a gray
rainy afternoon"; "gray clouds"; "the sky was leaden and
thick" [syn:
gray,
grey,
leaden]
v 1: make dull in appearance; "Age had dulled the surface"
2: become dull or lusterless in appearance; lose shine or
brightness, as of a varnished surface
3: deaden (a sound or noise), esp. by wrapping [syn:
muffle,
mute,
damp,
dampen,
tone down]
4: make numb or insensitive; "The shock numbed her senses"
[syn:
numb,
benumb,
blunt]
5: make dull or blunt, as of sharp edges or knives' blades
[syn:
blunt] [ant:
sharpen]
6: become less interesting or attractive [syn:
pall]
7: make less lively or vigorous; "Middle age dulled her
appetite for travel"