dull

I thought that your friend was going to be the life and soul of the party, but he was really dull.Pensaba que tu amigo iba a ser el alma de la fiesta, pero era realmente soso.

2. (not shiny)

a. apagado

I must clean all my silver jewelry; the metal looks dull.Tengo que limpiar todas mis joyas de plata; el color del metal está apagado.

b. mate

Do you prefer a brilliant or a dull white for the walls of the living room?¿Prefieres un blanco brillante o mate para las paredes del salón?

c. sin brillo (eyes or hair)

You could see from his dull eyes that life no longer mattered to him.Se veía en sus ojos sin brillo que la vida ya no le interesaba.

3. (weather)

a. gris

I'm tired of these dull winter days.Estoy cansado de estos días grises de invierno.

b. nublado

It was a dull day but at least it wasn't raining.El día estaba nublado, pero al menos no llovía.

4. (not intelligent)

a. torpe

His teachers clearly thought him a bit dull, but they were wrong.Era evidente que sus profesores lo encontraban algo torpe, pero se equivocaban.

b. lento

Maybe she is rather a dull girl, but she's nice.Tal vez sea una chica algo lenta, pero es simpática.

c. tonto

Harold is a bright boy, but his brother is rather dull.Harold es un chico inteligente, pero su hermano es algo tonto.

A word or phrase that is seldom used in contemporary language and is recognized as being from another decade, (e.g. cat, groovy).

(old-fashioned)

(listless)

a. desanimado

She couldn't abide feeling so dull and longed for some excitement in her life.No soportaba sentirse tan desanimada y deseaba tener algo emocionante en su vida.

6. (not sharp)

a. romo

This knife won't cut; the blade is dull.Este cuchillo no corta; la hoja está roma.

b. embotado

A dull blade won't be any good to you.Una hoja embotada no te servirá de nada.

7. (muffled)

a. sordo

I heard a dull thud in the room upstairs.Escuché un golpe sordo en la habitación de arriba.

b. amortiguado

He could hear the sound of dull footsteps going away.Oía el sonido de pasos amortiguados que se alejaban.

8. (not intense)

a. sordo

I had a dull pain in my back.Sentía un dolor sordo en la espalda.

9. (finance)

a. flojo

Business was dull that afternoon.Aquella tarde el negocio estaba flojo.

A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g. I bought a book.).

transitive verb

10. (to make less acute)

a. embotar (senses)

Panic dulled my senses so much that I wasn't able even to scream.El pánico me embotó tanto los sentidos que no fui capaz ni de gritar.

b. entorpecer (memory)

Drinking alcohol for so many years has definitely dulled my memory.Beber alcohol durante tantos años ha entorpecido mi memoria definitivamente.

11. (to lessen the intensity of)

a. atenuar

My dog has passed away, but knowing that he's in a better place dulls the grief.Mi perro ya no está, pero saber que está en un lugar mejor atenúa este dolor.

12. (to muffle)

a. apagar

I covered the walls with egg cartons to dull the sound of the guitar.Cubrí las paredes con hueveras para apagar el sonido de la guitarra.

13. (to dim)

a. apagar

A fine layer of dust dulls the colors of the rug.Una capa fina de polvo apaga los colores de la alfombra.

14. (to tarnish)

a. quitar el brillo a

That cleaner has completely dulled the metal!¡Ese limpiador le ha quitado totalmente el brillo al metal!

15. (to blunt)

a. embotar

Cutting paper dulls the blade.Cortar papel embota la hoja.

b. desafilar

Don't use the knife to cut branches. You'll dull the blade!No uses el cuchillo para cortar ramas. ¡Vas a desafilar la hoja!

An intransitive verb is one that does not require a direct object (e.g. The man sneezed.).

intransitive verb

16. (to become stupefied)

a. embotarse

My senses dulled after the explosion in the building.Mis sentidos se embotaron tras la explosión del edificio.

b. entorpecerse

When you are stressed, your memory dulls.Cuando uno se siente estresado, la memoria se entorpece.

17. (to lose shine)

a. perder brillo

Her eyes dulled as soon as she received the bad news.Sus ojos perdieron brillo en cuanto recibió la mala noticia.

dull

An adjective is a word that describes a noun (e.g. the big dog).

adjective

1. (boring; book, film, person)

a. aburrido(a)

2. (job, life, party)

a. insulso(a), soso(a)

to be as dull as ditchwaterser más soso(a) que la calabaza

3. (not intelligent)

a. tonto(a), torpe

b. sonso(a)

Regionalism used in Latin America: all the countries in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Does not include Spain.

(Latin America)

c. zonzo(a)

Regionalism used in Latin America: all the countries in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Does not include Spain.

(Latin America)

4. (not sharp; tool, blade)

a. romo(a)

5. (sound, pain)

a. sordo(a)

6. (not bright; color, surface)

a. mate, apagado(a)

7. (eyes)

a. apagado(a)

8. (weather, sky)

a. gris, triste

A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object (e.g. I bought a book.).

transitive verb

9. (reduce intensity of; pleasure)

a. enturbiar

10. (the senses)

a. embotar

11. (pain)

a. mitigar, atenuar

12. (sound)

a. apagar

13. (blade)

a. desafilar, embotar

14. (make less bright; colors, eyes)

a. apagar

dull [dʌl]

adjective

duller (comparative)dullest (superlative)

1 (boring) [+person, speech, book, evening, job] aburrido; pesado; [+place] aburrido; soso; [+style, food] soso

deadly dull terriblemente aburrido; aburridísimo; there's never a dull moment here in the office aquí en la oficina no nos aburrimos nunca

as dull as ditchwater terriblemente aburrido

2 (not bright) [+colour, metal, glow] apagado; [+eyes] apagado; sin brillo; [+hair, skin, complexion] sin brillo; [+weather] nublado; [+sky, day] gris

his eyes were dull and lifeless sus ojos estaban apagados y sin vida; dull, lifeless hair pelo sin brillo, sin vida; it will be dull at first (Metal) al principio estará nublado

3 (not sharp) [+pain, feeling, sound] sordo

it fell with a dull thud or thump cayó con un golpe sordo

4 (lethargic, withdrawn) [+person, mood] deprimido; desanimado

5 (slow-witted) [+person, mind] torpe; [+pupil] lento

his senses or faculties are growing dull está perdiendo facultades; to be dull of hearing ser duro de oído

6 (blunt) [+blade, knife] romo

7 (Comm) [+trade, business, market] flojo

transitive verb

[+senses, blade] embotar; [+emotions] enfriar; [+pain] aliviar; [+sound] amortiguar; [+mind, memory] entorpecer; [+colour] apagar; [+mirror, metal] deslustrar; quitar el brillo de; [+sensitivity] embrutecer; [+grief] atenuar

the explosion dulled her hearing la explosión la dejó dura de oído

intransitive verb

[+light] amortiguarse; [+colour] apagarse; perder intensidad; [+metal] deslustrarse; perder brillo; [+memory] entorpecerse; [+senses] embotarse

his eyes dulled sus ojos perdieron brillo

Word Roots

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Examples

Word Forms

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Phrases

dull pain	el dolor leve
don't let anyone dull your sparkle	no dejes que nadie apague tu luz
never let anyone dull your sparkle	nunca dejes que nadie apague tu luz
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.	Hay que trabajar para vivir y no vivir para trabajar.
dull color	color opaco