different between diminish vs dull
diminish
English
Etymology
Formed under the influence of both diminue (from Old French diminuer, from Latin d?minuo) and minish.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /d??m?n??/
Verb
diminish (third-person singular simple present diminishes, present participle diminishing, simple past and past participle diminished)
- (transitive) To make smaller.
- (intransitive) To become smaller.
- (transitive) To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to abase; to weaken; to nerf (in gaming).
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Ezekiel 29:15,[1]
- It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.
- 1639, Ralph Robinson (translator), Utopia by Thomas More, London, Book 2, “Of their journying or travelling abroad,” p. 197,[2]
- […] this doth nothing diminish their opinion.
- 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 4, lines 32-35,[3]
- O thou, that, with surpassing glory crowned,
- Lookest from thy sole dominion like the God
- Of this new world; at whose sight all the stars
- Hide their diminished heads; to thee I call,
- 1961, V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas, London: André Deutsch, Chapter 3,
- In Seth’s presence Mr Biswas felt diminished. Everything about Seth was overpowering: his calm manner, his smooth grey hair, his ivory holder, his hard swollen forearms […]
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Ezekiel 29:15,[1]
- (intransitive) To taper.
- 1853, Elizabeth Gaskell, Cranford, London: J.M. Dent, 1904, Chapter 8, p. 120,[4]
- The chair and table legs diminished as they neared the ground, and were straight and square in all their corners.
- 1853, Elizabeth Gaskell, Cranford, London: J.M. Dent, 1904, Chapter 8, p. 120,[4]
- (intransitive) To disappear gradually.
- 1948, Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter, Penguin, 1971, Part Two, Chapter 2, 1, p. 77,[5]
- ‘Good evening, good evening,’ Father Rank called. His stride lengthened and he caught a foot in his soutane and stumbled as he went by. ‘A storm’s coming up,’ he said. ‘Got to hurry,’ and his ‘ho, ho, ho’ diminished mournfully along the railway track, bringing no comfort to anyone.
- 1948, Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter, Penguin, 1971, Part Two, Chapter 2, 1, p. 77,[5]
- (transitive) To take away; to subtract.
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Deuteronomy 4:2,[6]
- Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
- 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Deuteronomy 4:2,[6]
Antonyms
- improve, repair, renovate
Derived terms
- diminishment
- law of diminishing returns
Related terms
- diminution
Translations
Anagrams
- minidish
diminish From the web:
- what diminishes
- what diminish mean
- what diminishes happiness
- what diminishes a fee simple estate
- what diminishes dark spots
- what diminishes scars
- what diminishes/dissipates a thunderstorm
- what diminishes bruises
dull
English
Alternative forms
- dul, dulle (all obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English dull, dul (also dyll, dill, dwal), from Old English dol (“dull, foolish, erring, heretical; foolish, silly; presumptuous”), from Proto-Germanic *dulaz, a variant of *dwalaz (“stunned, mad, foolish, misled”), from Proto-Indo-European *d?wel-, *d?ewel- (“to dim, dull, cloud, make obscure, swirl, whirl”). Cognate with Scots dull, doll (“slow to understand or hear, deaf, dull”), North Frisian dol (“rash, unthinking, giddy, flippant”), Dutch dol (“crazy, mad, insane”), Low German dul, dol (“mad, silly, stupid, fatuous”), German toll (“crazy, mad, wild, fantastic”), Danish dval (“foolish, absurd”), Icelandic dulur (“secretive, silent”), West-Flemish dul (angry, furious).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /d?l/
- (Canada) IPA(key): /d?l/, /d?l/, /d??/
- (US)
- Rhymes: -?l
Adjective
dull (comparative duller, superlative dullest)
- Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp.
- Boring; not exciting or interesting.
- Not shiny; having a matte finish or no particular luster or brightness.
- a dull fire or lamp;? a dull red or yellow;? a dull mirror
- A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; as, again, the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull, small fire.
- Not bright or intelligent; stupid; having slow understanding.
- Sluggish, listless.
- This people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, Faerie Queene
- O, help my weak wit and sharpen my dull tongue.
- Cloudy, overcast.
- Insensible; unfeeling.
- Think me not / So dull a devil to forget the loss / Of such a matchless wife.
- Heavy; lifeless; inert.
- c. 1857', Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Table-Talk
- As turning the logs will make a dull fire burn, so changes of study a dull brain.
- c. 1857', Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Table-Talk
- (of pain etc) Not intense; felt indistinctly or only slightly.
- Pressing on the bruise produces a dull pain.
- (of a noise or sound) Not clear, muffled.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:boring
- See also Thesaurus:stupid
- (not shiny): lackluster, matte
Antonyms
- bright
- intelligent
- sharp
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
dull (third-person singular simple present dulls, present participle dulling, simple past and past participle dulled)
- (transitive) To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp.
- Years of misuse have dulled the tools.
- 1623, Francis Bacon, A Discourse of a War with Spain
- This […] dulled their swords.
- (transitive) To soften, moderate or blunt; to make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy.
- He drinks to dull the pain.
- 1850, Richard Chenevix Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord
- Use and custom have so dulled our eyes.
- (intransitive) To lose a sharp edge; to become dull.
- A razor will dull with use.
- To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish.
Synonyms
- dullen
Translations
References
- dull in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- dull in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Anagrams
- ULDL
Welsh
Etymology
Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dey?- (“to show, point out”).
Pronunciation
- (North Wales) IPA(key): /d???/
- (South Wales) IPA(key): /d??/
Noun
dull m (plural dulliau)
- method
Mutation
Further reading
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present) , “dull”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
References
dull From the web:
- what dull means
- what dulls a knife the fastest
- what dull pain means
- what dulls a chainsaw chain
- what dulls scissors
- what dulls iron
- what dull hair means
- what dulls your taste buds
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