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dull

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dull


  4  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Dull  \Dull\,  v.  i. 
  To  become  dull  or  stupid.  --Rom.  of  R. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Dull  \Dull\,  a.  [Compar.  {Duller};  superl.  {Dullest}.]  [AS.  dol 
  foolish;  akin  to  gedwelan  to  err,  D.  dol  mad,  dwalen  to 
  wander,  err,  G.  toll  mad,  Goth.  dwals  foolish,  stupid,  cf 
  Gr  ?  turbid,  troubled,  Skr.  dhvr  to  cause  to  fall.  Cf 
  {Dolt},  {Dwale},  {Dwell},  {Fraud}.] 
  1.  Slow  of  understanding;  wanting  readiness  of  apprehension; 
  stupid;  doltish;  blockish.  ``Dull  at  classical  learning.'' 
  --Thackeray. 
 
  She  is  not  bred  so  dull  but  she  can  learn.  --Shak. 
 
  2.  Slow  in  action  sluggish;  unready;  awkward. 
 
  This  people's  heart  is  waxed  gross,  and  their  ears 
  are  dull  of  hearing.  --Matt.  xiii. 
  15. 
 
  O,  help  my  weak  wit  and  sharpen  my  dull  tongue. 
  --Spenser. 
 
  3.  Insensible;  unfeeling. 
 
  Think  me  not  So  dull  a  devil  to  forget  the  loss  Of 
  such  a  matchless  wife.  --  Beau.  &  Fl 
 
  4.  Not  keen  in  edge  or  point;  lacking  sharpness;  blunt.  ``Thy 
  scythe  is  dull.''  --Herbert. 
 
  5.  Not  bright  or  clear  to  the  eye;  wanting  in  liveliness  of 
  color  or  luster;  not  vivid;  obscure;  dim;  as  a  dull  fire 
  or  lamp;  a  dull  red  or  yellow;  a  dull  mirror. 
 
  6.  Heavy;  gross;  cloggy;  insensible;  spiritless;  lifeless; 
  inert.  ``The  dull  earth.''  --Shak. 
 
  As  turning  the  logs  will  make  a  dull  fire  burn,  so 
  changes  of  study  a  dull  brain.  --  Longfellow. 
 
  7.  Furnishing  little  delight,  spirit,  or  variety; 
  uninteresting;  tedious;  cheerless;  gloomy;  melancholy; 
  depressing;  as  a  dull  story  or  sermon;  a  dull  occupation 
  or  period;  hence  cloudy;  overcast;  as  a  dull  day 
 
  Along  life's  dullest,  dreariest  walk.  --  Keble. 
 
  Syn:  Lifeless;  inanimate;  dead;  stupid;  doltish;  heavy; 
  sluggish;  sleepy;  drowsy;  gross;  cheerless;  tedious; 
  irksome;  dismal;  dreary;  clouded;  tarnished;  obtuse.  See 
  {Lifeless}. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Dull  \Dull\,  v.  t.  [imp.  &  p.  p.  {Duller};  p.  pr  &  vb  n. 
  {Dulling}.] 
  1.  To  deprive  of  sharpness  of  edge  or  point.  ``This  .  .  . 
  dulled  their  swords.''  --Bacon. 
 
  Borrowing  dulls  the  edge  of  husbandry.  --Shak. 
 
  2.  To  make  dull,  stupid,  or  sluggish;  to  stupefy,  as  the 
  senses  the  feelings,  the  perceptions,  and  the  like 
 
  Those  [drugs]  she  has  Will  stupefy  and  dull  the 
  sense  a  while  --Shak. 
 
  Use  and  custom  have  so  dulled  our  eyes.  --Trench. 
 
  3.  To  render  dim  or  obscure;  to  sully;  to  tarnish.  ``Dulls 
  the  mirror.''  --Bacon. 
 
  4.  To  deprive  of  liveliness  or  activity;  to  render  heavy;  to 
  make  inert;  to  depress;  to  weary;  to  sadden. 
 
  Attention  of  mind  .  .  .  wasted  or  dulled  through 
  continuance.  --Hooker. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  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" 




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