adjective / verb

dull

DUHL/dʌl/

Lacking or losing sharpness or intensity.

This dull knife crushes the tomato instead of slicing it.

A worn kitchen knife presses into a ripe tomato but crushes and wrinkles its skin instead of slicing it, concretely illustrating the 'not sharp' branch of the frozen meaning.

Etymology

Dull may come from Old English dol, an unrecorded parallel word, or Middle Low German dul, 'foolish, reckless.' Its early senses paired slow understanding with blunt edges, later extending to dim color and tedious experience.

In context

Micheal Farmer0:33

if victory is long and coming then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped

The Art of War - Part 2 - Waging War.

More examples

The lecture is so dull that I struggle to stay awake.
Years of sunlight dull the paint on the door.
The medicine dulls the pain in my shoulder.

Forms

dull · duller · dullest · dulls · dulled · dulling

dullness noun — Lack of sharpness, brightness, or liveliness.

dully adverb — In a way lacking brightness or liveliness.

Similar words

blunt: Describes an edge or point, not boredom or brightness.
dim: Describes weak light rather than a lack of shine.
boring: Focuses on lack of interest, not sharpness or intensity.