dullness

English

Alternative forms

• dulness (archaic)

Etymology

From dull +‎ -ness.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdʌl.nəs/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Noun

dullness (usually uncountable, plural dullnesses)

1. The quality of being slow of understanding things; stupidity.
2. The quality of being uninteresting; boring; humorless or irksome.
   • 1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, II.ii:

     If to raise malicious smiles at the infirmities or misfortunes of those who have never injured us be the province of wit or Humour, Heaven grant me a double Portion of Dullness—

3. Lack of interest or excitement.
4. The lack of visual brilliance; want of sheen.

   dullness of autumn

5. (of an edge) bluntness.
6. The quality of not perceiving or kenning things distinctly.

   dullness of sight, or of hearing

7. (archaic) Drowsiness.
   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

     Prospero: […] Thou art inclin'd to sleep. 'Tis a good dulness, / And give it way— I know thou canst not choose.

Translations

quality of being slow to understand

• Finnish: tylsyys (fi)
• French: obtusité (fr) f
• Latvian: trulums m
• Romanian: obtuzitate (ro) f
• Russian: тупоумие (ru) n (tupoumije), ту́пость (ru) f (túpostʹ)

quality of being uninteresting

• Dutch: saaiheid (nl) f
• Finnish: tylsyys (fi), latteus (fi)
• Romanian: plictiseală (ro) f, dezinteresat (ro)
• Russian: вя́лость (ru) f (vjálostʹ)

lack of visual brilliance

• Finnish: tylsyys (fi), tylsän näköisyys
• Latvian: blāvums m, nespodrums m
• Romanian: mat (ro), fără strălucire
• Russian: ту́склость (ru) f (túsklostʹ), ма́товость (ru) f (mátovostʹ), нея́ркость (ru) f (nejárkostʹ)

bluntness of an edge

• Finnish: tylsyys (fi)
• Latvian: trulums m
• Russian: затупле́ние (ru) n (zatuplénije), туповатость (ru) f (tupovatostʹ)

Anagrams

• Sundells