Dull

a. [compar. DULLER; superl. DULLEST.] [A.-S. dol, drol, dral, erring, foolish, from dvelan, to be dull, dvolian, to wander, to rave, D. dol, mad, dolen, dwalen, to wander, rave, Sw. dwala, Dan. dvale, dead slumber, trance, Icel. dvále, foolishness, dvāli, sleep, swoon, Goth. dwals, foolish, stupid, L. Ger. dull, H. Ger. toll, mad.]

1. Slow of understanding; stupid; doltish; blockish.
2. Slow in action, motion, perception, comprehension, sensibility, and the like qualities; unready; awkward; insensible; unfeeling. “Dull at classical learning.” Thackeray.

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. Think me not So dull a devil to forget the loss Of such a matchless wife. Beau. & Fl.

3. Not keen in edge or point; lacking sharpness; blunt. “The scythe is dull.” Herbert.
4. Not bright or clear to the eye; wanting in liveliness of color; not vivid; obscure; dim; as, a dull fire or lamp; a dull red or yellow; a dull mirror.
5. Heavy; gross; cloggy; insensible. “The dull earth.” Shak.
6. Furnishing little delight, spirit, or variety; uninteresting; cheerless; sad; melancholy; depressing; as, a dull story or sermon; a dull occupation or period; hence, cloudy; overcast; as, a dull day.

Syn.—Lifeless; inanimate; dead; stupid; doltish; heavy; sluggish; sleepy; drowsy; gross; cheerless; clouded; tarnished; blunt; obtuse. See LIFELESS.

v. t. [imp. & p. p. DULLED; p. pr. & vb. n. DULLING.] 1. 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.

2. To deprive of sharpness of edge or point; to make blunt; as, to dull a sword.
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 depress; to disappoint; to render sad. “Attention of mind . . . wasted or dulled through continuance.” Hooker.