different between inactive vs dull

English

Etymology

From French inactif. See also earlier unactive.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?ækt?v/
• Rhymes: -ækt?v

Adjective

inactive (comparative more inactive, superlative most inactive)

1. Not active, temporarily or permanently.

   The volcano is inactive, but is only dormant.

   An inactive boy, he rarely exercised and preferred to stay indoors.

2. Not functioning or operating; broken down

   The photocopier is inactive pending repair.

3. Retired from duty or service.

   Admiral Jones is now on the inactive list.

4. (chemistry) Relatively inert.

   Aluminium is inactive towards water.

5. (physics) Showing no optical activity in polarized light.

   Synthetic glycine is optically inactive as it contains equal amounts of the d- and l- form.

Synonyms

• (not active): dull, dormant; see also Thesaurus:inactive
• (not functioning or operating): idle

Antonyms

• (not active): active

Derived terms

• inactively
• inactivity

Translations

Anagrams

• antivice, vaticine

French

Verb

inactive

1. first-person singular present indicative of inactiver
2. third-person singular present indicative of inactiver
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of inactiver
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of inactiver
5. second-person singular imperative of inactiver

Adjective

inactive

1. feminine singular of inactif

Latin

Adjective

in?ct?ve

1. vocative masculine singular of in?ct?vus

Portuguese

Verb

inactive

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of inactivar
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of inactivar
3. first-person singular imperative of inactivar
4. third-person singular imperative of inactivar

Spanish

Verb

inactive

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of inactivar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of inactivar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of inactivar.
4. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of inactivar.

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