Part 3525

<hw>Dull</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt> <wordforms>[<tt>Compar.</tt> <er>Duller</er> <tt>(?)</tt>; <tt>superl.</tt> <er>Dullest</er>.]</wordforms> <ety>[AS. <ets>dol</ets> foolish; akin to <ets>gedwelan</ets> to err, D. <ets>dol</ets> mad, <ets>dwalen</ets> to wander, err, G. <ets>toll</ets> mad, Goth. <ets>dwals</ets> foolish, stupid, cf. Gr. <?/ turbid, troubled, Skr. <ets>dhvr</ets> to cause to fall. Cf. <er>Dolt</er>, <er>Dwale</er>, <er>Dwell</er>, <er>Fraud</er>.]</ety>

<p><b>1.</b> <def>Slow of understanding; wanting readiness of apprehension; stupid; doltish; blockish.</def> "<i>Dull</i> at classical learning."

<i>Thackeray.</i>

<blockquote>She is not bred so <b>dull</b> but she can learn. <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>Slow in action; sluggish; unready; awkward.</def>

<blockquote>This people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are <b>dull</b> of hearing. <i>Matt. xiii. 15.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>O, help my weak wit and sharpen my <b>dull</b> tongue. <i>Spenser.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>3.</b> <def>Insensible; unfeeling.</def>

<blockquote>Think me not So <b>dull</b> a devil to forget the loss Of such a matchless wife. <i> Beau. & Fl.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>4.</b> <def>Not keen in edge or point; lacking sharpness; blunt.</def> "Thy scythe is <i>dull</i>."

<i>Herbert.</i>

<p><b>5.</b> <def>Not bright or clear to the eye; wanting in liveliness of color or luster; not vivid; obscure; dim; <as>as, a <ex>dull</ex> fire or lamp; a <ex>dull</ex> red or yellow; a <ex>dull</ex> mirror.</as></def>

<p><b>6.</b> <def>Heavy; gross; cloggy; insensible; spiritless; lifeless; inert.</def> "The <i>dull</i> earth."

<i>Shak.</i>

<blockquote>As turning the logs will make a <b>dull</b> fire burn, so changes of study a <b>dull</b> brain. <i> Longfellow.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>7.</b> <def>Furnishing little delight, spirit, or variety; uninteresting; tedious; cheerless; gloomy; melancholy; depressing; <as>as, a <ex>dull</ex> story or sermon; a <ex>dull</ex> occupation or period</as>; hence, cloudy; overcast; <as>as, a <ex>dull</ex> day</as>.</def>

<blockquote>Along life's <b>dullest</b>, dreariest walk. <i> Keble.</i></blockquote>

<syn>Syn. -- Lifeless; inanimate; dead; stupid; doltish; heavy; sluggish; sleepy; drowsy; gross; cheerless; tedious; irksome; dismal; dreary; clouded; tarnished; obtuse. See <er>Lifeless</er>.</syn>

<h1>Dull</h1> <Xpage=460>

<hw>Dull</hw>, <tt>v. t.</tt> <wordforms>[<tt>imp. & p. p.</tt> <er>Duller</er> <tt>(?)</tt>; <tt>p. pr. & vb. n.</tt> <er>Dulling</er>.]</wordforms> <p><b>1.</b> <def>To deprive of sharpness of edge or point.</def> "This . . . <i>dulled</i> their swords."

<i>Bacon.</i>

<blockquote>Borrowing <b>dulls</b> the edge of husbandry. <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>To make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy, as the senses, the feelings, the perceptions, and the like.</def>

<blockquote>Those [drugs] she has Will stupefy and <b>dull</b> the sense a while. <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>Use and custom have so <b>dulled</b> our eyes. <i>Trench.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>3.</b> <def>To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish.</def> "<i>Dulls</i> the mirror."

<i>Bacon.</i>

<p><b>4.</b> <def>To deprive of liveliness or activity; to render heavy; to make inert; to depress; to weary; to sadden.</def>