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DULLNESS
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Without sharpness or clearness of edge or point
Example:
the dullness of the pencil made his writing illegible
Synonyms:
bluntness; dullness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("dullness" is a kind of...):
configuration; conformation; contour; form; shape (any spatial attributes (especially as defined by outline))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dullness"):
obtuseness (the quality of lacking a sharp edge or point)
Antonym:
sharpness (harshness of manner)
sharpness (thinness of edge or fineness of point)
Derivation:
dull (not having a sharp edge or point)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Lack of sensibility
Example:
without him the dullness of her life crept into her work no matter how she tried to compartmentalize it.
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("dullness" is a kind of...):
callosity; callousness; hardness; insensibility; unfeelingness (devoid of passion or feeling; hardheartedness)
Derivation:
dull (not keenly felt)
dull (blunted in responsiveness or sensibility)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A lack of visual brightness
Example:
the brightness of the orange sky was reflected in the dullness of the orange sea
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("dullness" is a kind of...):
visual property (an attribute of vision)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dullness"):
dimness; subduedness (the property of lights or sounds that lack brilliance or are reduced in intensity)
flatness; lusterlessness; lustrelessness; mat; matt; matte (the property of having little or no contrast; lacking highlights or gloss)
Antonym:
brightness (the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white)
Derivation:
dull (emitting or reflecting very little light)
dull ((of color) very low in saturation; highly diluted)
dull (darkened with overcast)
Sense 4
Meaning:
The quality of lacking interestingness
Example:
the stories were of a dullness to bring a buffalo to its knees
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("dullness" is a kind of...):
uninterestingness (inability to capture or hold one's interest)
Attribute:
dull (lacking in liveliness or animation)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dullness"):
boringness; dreariness; insipidity; insipidness (extreme dullness; lacking spirit or interest)
tediousness; tedium; tiresomeness (dullness owing to length or slowness)
jejuneness; jejunity; tameness; vapidity; vapidness (the quality of being vapid and unsophisticated)
Derivation:
dull (lacking in liveliness or animation)
dull (so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness)
Sense 5
Meaning:
The quality of being slow to understand
Synonyms:
dullness; obtuseness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("dullness" is a kind of...):
stupidity (a poor ability to understand or to profit from experience)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dullness"):
oscitance; oscitancy (drowsiness and dullness manifested by yawning)
Derivation:
dull (slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity)
