Antonyms for dullness


Grammar : Noun
Spell : duhl
Phonetic Transcription : dÊŒl


Definition of dullness

Origin :
  • c.1200, "stupid;" early 13c., "blunt, not sharp;" rare before mid-14c., apparently from Old English dol "dull-witted, foolish," or an unrecorded parallel word, or from Middle Low German dul "slow-witted," both from Proto-Germanic *dulaz (cf. Old Frisian and Old Saxon dol "foolish," Old High German tol, German toll "mad, wild," Gothic dwals "foolish"), from PIE *dheu- (1) "dust, vapor, smoke" (and related notions of "defective perception or wits"). Of color from early 15c.; of pain or other sensations from 1725. Sense of "boring" first recorded 1580s.
  • dull. (8) Not exhilarating; not delightful; as to make dictionaries is dull work. [Johnson]
  • Dullsville, slang for "town where nothing happens," attested from 1960.
  • noun quality of being boring
  • noun stupidity
Example sentences :
  • For all her dullness, it was a signal from Sally that saved Andrew.
  • Extract from : « Way of the Lawless » by Max Brand
  • Yet, now, in the dullness ran a faint suggestion of something sinister.
  • Extract from : « Within the Law » by Marvin Dana
  • I know all about the "dullness" and "monotony" of rural life, bad housing and the rest of it.
  • Extract from : « Another Sheaf » by John Galsworthy
  • His attempts at general conversation broke down into dullness.
  • Extract from : « A Set of Six » by Joseph Conrad
  • Recent Paris and Calcutta retrospect chides his dullness of perception.
  • Extract from : « Oswald Langdon » by Carson Jay Lee
  • His dullness and immobility had increased almost to a stupor.
  • Extract from : « The Crooked House » by Brandon Fleming
  • Greta complained bitterly of her dullness when her friends had left.
  • Extract from : « Doctor Luttrell's First Patient » by Rosa Nouchette Carey
  • The dullness which comes of "all work and no play" may be said to affect the carver at times.
  • Extract from : « Wood-Carving » by George Jack
  • That may quite likely have been due to my own dullness of comprehension.
  • Extract from : « Quiet Talks on Power » by S.D. Gordon
  • Ah, monsieur could not conceive to himself the dullness of it.
  • Extract from : « The Lock And Key Library » by Various

Synonyms for dullness

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019