different between dreary vs insipid

English

Etymology

From Middle English drery, from Old English dr?ori? (“sad”), from Proto-Germanic *dreuzagaz (“bloody”), from Proto-Indo-European *d?rews- (“to break, break off, crumble”), equivalent to drear +? -y. Cognate with Dutch treurig (“sad, gloomy”), Low German trurig (“sad”), German traurig (“sad, sorrowful, mournful”), Old Norse dreyrigr (“bloody”). Related to Old English dr?or (“blood, falling blood”), Old English drysmian (“to become gloomy”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?d???i/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?d????i/
• Rhymes: -???i, -??i

Adjective

dreary (comparative drearier or more dreary, superlative dreariest or most dreary)

1. Drab; dark, colorless, or cheerless.

   It had rained for three days straight, and the dreary weather dragged the townspeople's spirits down.

   Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary...
2. (obsolete) Grievous, dire; appalling.

Derived terms

• drear
• drearihead
• drearihood
• drearily
• dreariment
• dreariness
• drearisome

Translations

Anagrams

• Ardrey, Drayer, yarder, yarred

English

Etymology

From French insipide, from Latin ?nsipidus (“tasteless”), from in- (“not”) + sapidus (“savory”). In some senses, perhaps influenced by insipient (“unwise, foolish, stupid”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /?n?s?p.?d/

Adjective

insipid (comparative more insipid, superlative most insipid)

1. Unappetizingly flavorless.

   Synonyms: tasteless, bland, vapid, wearish

2. Flat; lacking character or definition.

   Synonyms: boring, vacuous, dull, bland, characterless, colourless

Derived terms

Related terms

• insipient

Translations

Further reading

• “insipid”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
• insipid at OneLook Dictionary Search

Romanian

Etymology

From French insipide.

Adjective

insipid m or n (feminine singular insipid?, masculine plural insipizi, feminine and neuter plural insipide)

1. insipid, tasteless

Declension

Related terms

• insipiditate