dullness

/'dʌlnis/ Cách viết khác : (dullness) /'dʌlnis/

Thân thiện

The pencil's dullness made his handwriting smudged and unclear.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • The state or quality of lacking sharpness or keenness: This refers to an edge or point that is not sharp, or to a sensation that is not acute.
   • The state of lacking brightness, vividness, or intensity: This can refer to a lack of visual brightness, color, or shine, or to a lack of liveliness in sound or feeling.
   • The quality of being uninteresting, boring, or monotonous: This refers to something that fails to engage attention or interest.
   • The quality of being slow in understanding or perception: This refers to a lack of quickness or acuity in the mind or senses.

Examples of Usage

• Lacking sharpness or keenness:

  • The dullness of the knife made cutting the vegetables difficult.
  • A feeling of dullness persisted in his injured arm.

• Lacking brightness or intensity:

  • The dullness of the old painting's colors was noticeable.
  • The sky had a gray dullness that promised rain.

• Being uninteresting or boring:

  • The dullness of the lecture made it hard to stay awake.
  • He complained about the dullness of suburban life.

• Being slow to understand:

  • Her dullness in mathematics was a source of frustration for the teacher.

Advanced Usage

• "A dullness of spirit": A state of low spirits, lethargy, or depression.

  • After the bad news, a profound dullness of spirit settled over the household.

• "To take the dullness off": To make something slightly less boring or monotonous.

  • A bit of music helped to take the dullness off the long drive.

Variants and Related Words

• Dull (adj): Not sharp; lacking intensity; boring; slow of understanding.

  • a dull blade; a dull ache; a dull book; a dull student

• Dully (adv): In a dull manner.

  • He stared dully out the window.

Synonyms

• Bluntness: The quality of not having a sharp edge or point.
• Monotony: Lack of variety and interest; tedious repetition and routine.
• Denseness: The quality of being slow to understand; stupidity.
• Dimness: The state of not being bright or clear.
• Tedium: The state of being tedious; boredom.

Antonyms

• Sharpness: The quality of having a keen edge or point.
• Brightness: The quality of emitting or reflecting light vividly.
• Brilliance: Intense brightness or exceptional talent.
• Keenness: Sharpness; eagerness; intellectual acuity.
• Interest: The feeling of wanting to know or learn about something.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• To dull the pain/senses: To make a pain or sensation less acute.

  • The medication helped to dull the pain.

• As dull as dishwater: Extremely boring or uninteresting.

  • His presentation was as dull as dishwater.

• Never a dull moment: Used to say that a situation is always exciting or busy.

  • With three young children, there's never a dull moment in their house.

Học thuật

Noun

1. without sharpness or clearness of edge or point
   • the dullness of the pencil made his writing illegible
2. lack of sensibility
   • there was a dullness in his heart
   • without him the dullness of her life crept into her work no matter how she tried to compartmentalize it.
3. a lack of visual brightness
   • the brightness of the orange sky was reflected in the dullness of the orange sea
4. the quality of lacking interestingness
   • the stories were of a dullness to bring a buffalo to its knees
5. the quality of being slow to understand

Từ đồng nghĩa

• bluntness
• obtuseness