different between dull vs shady
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
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- what dull hair means
- what dulls your taste buds
shady
English
Etymology
From shade +? -y. Compare Saterland Frisian skaadich, skaddich (“shady”), German schattig (“shady”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /??e?di/
- Rhymes: -e?di
Adjective
shady (comparative shadier, superlative shadiest)
- Abounding in shades.
- Causing shade.
- The shady trees cover him with their shadow.
- Overspread with shade; sheltered from the glare of light or sultry heat.
- 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Building
- you may have rooms both for summer and winter; shady for summer, and warm for winter
- 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Building
- (informal) Not trustworthy; disreputable.
- He is a shady character.
- 2009: Stuart Heritage, Hecklerspray, Friday the 22nd of May in 2009 at 1 o’clock p.m., “Jon & Kate Latest: People You Don’t Know Do Crap You Don’t Care About”
- Jon & Kate Plus 8 is a show based on two facts: 1) Jon and Kate Gosselin have eight children, and 2) the word ‘Kate’ rhymes with the word ‘eight’. One suspects that if Kate were ever to have another child, a shady network executive would urge her to put it in a binbag with a brick and drop it down a well. But this is just a horrifying tangent.
- (Britain, slang) Mean, cruel.
- Don't be shady, give us a go.
Synonyms
- (not trustworthy): corrupt, dodgy, dubious, equivocal, seedy, sketchy, suspicious
Translations
Anagrams
- dashy
shady From the web:
- what shady means
- what shady beaches bronzer
- what shady beaches
- what's shady in daytona
- what's shady in daytona facebook
- what shady means in spanish
- what's shady records phone number
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