different between dull vs slow

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)

1. Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp.

2. Boring; not exciting or interesting.

3. 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.

4. Not bright or intelligent; stupid; having slow understanding.
5. 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.
6. Cloudy, overcast.

7. Insensible; unfeeling.

   • Think me not / So dull a devil to forget the loss / Of such a matchless wife.

8. 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.

9. (of pain etc) Not intense; felt indistinctly or only slightly.

   Pressing on the bruise produces a dull pain.

10. (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)

1. (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.

2. (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.

3. (intransitive) To lose a sharp edge; to become dull.

   A razor will dull with use.

4. 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)

1. 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

English

Etymology

From Middle English slow, slaw, from Old English sl?w (“sluggish, inert, slothful, late, tardy, torpid, slow”), from Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz (“blunt, dull, faint, weak, slack”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lew- (“limp”). Cognate with Scots slaw (“slow”), Dutch sleeuw (“blunt, dull”), Low German slee (“dull, sluggish”), German schlehe, schleh (“dull, exhausted, faint”), Danish sløv (“dull, torpid, drowsy”), Swedish slö (“slack, lazy”), Icelandic sljór (“dim-witted, slow”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /sl??/
• (US) IPA^(key): /slo?/
• Rhymes: -??

Adjective

slow (comparative slower, superlative slowest)

1. Taking a long time to move or go a short distance, or to perform an action; not quick in motion; proceeding at a low speed.

2. Not happening in a short time; spread over a comparatively long time.
   • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost

     These changes in the heavens, though slow, produced / Like change on sea and land, sidereal blast.
3. Of reduced intellectual capacity; not quick to comprehend.
   • 1960, Dissertation Abstracts (volume 20, page 4007)

     Experienced classroom teachers are well acquainted with the attention-seeker, the shy girl, the aggressive boy, the poor concentrator, the slow student […]

4. Not hasty; not tending to hurry; acting with deliberation or caution.
   • 1999, Brian Paul Kaufman, K. Winston Caine, Prayer, Faith, and Healing: Cure Your Body, Heal Your Mind and Restore Your Soul

     And even after the emotional cast comes off, we need to be slow about getting deeply involved in a relationship again

   • 1611, King James Bible, Proverbs xiv 29

     He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding.

5. (of a clock or the like) Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true time.

6. Lacking spirit; deficient in liveliness or briskness.
7. (of a period of time) Not busy; lacking activity.

Synonyms

• (taking a long time to move a short distance): deliberate; moderate; see also Thesaurus:slow
• (not happening in a short time): gradual; see also Thesaurus:gradual
• (of reduced intellectual capacity): dull-witted; see also Thesaurus:stupid
• (acting with deliberation): careful, deliberate, prudent; see also Thesaurus:cautious
• (behind in time):
• (lacking spirit): boring, dilatory, dull, inactive, tardy, slothful, sluggish; see also Thesaurus:inactive or Thesaurus:boring
• (not busy): quiet, unbusy

Antonyms

• (taking a long time to move a short distance): fast, quick, rapid, swift; see also Thesaurus:speedy
• (not happening in a short time): abrupt, sudden; see also Thesaurus:sudden
• (of reduced intellectual capacity): keen, quick, quick-witted; see also Thesaurus:intelligent
• (acting with deliberation): hasty, precipitate, prompt; see also Thesaurus:prompt
• (behind in time): accurate, fast
• (lacking spirit): brisk, lively; see also Thesaurus:active
• (not busy): hectic

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

slow (third-person singular simple present slows, present participle slowing, simple past and past participle slowed)

1. (transitive) To make (something) run, move, etc. less quickly; to reduce the speed of.

2. (transitive) To keep from going quickly; to hinder the progress of.

3. (intransitive) To become slow; to slacken in speed; to decelerate.

   • After about a minute, the creek bed vomited the debris into a gently sloped meadow. Saugstad felt the snow slow and tried to keep her hands in front of her.

Synonyms

• (keep from going quickly): delay, hinder, retard
• (become slow): decelerate, slacken

Derived terms

• slower
• slow up
• slow down

Translations

Noun

slow (plural slows)

1. Someone who is slow; a sluggard.
2. (music) A slow song.

Adverb

slow (comparative slower, superlative slowest)

1. Slowly.
   • 1594, William Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece

     Let him have time to mark how slow time goes / In time of sorrow.

Anagrams

• Lows, OWLs, lows, owls, sowl

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English slow.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slo/

Noun

slow m (plural slows)

1. slow waltz

See also

• quick

Further reading

• “slow” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [slow]

Noun

slow

1. genitive of sl?