Translation
Conjugation
Vocabulary
new
Grammar
Word of the Day
Log inSign up
Dictionary
Examples
Pronunciation
Phrases
dull(
duhl
)
adjective
1. (boring) 
a. aburrido 
The book was so dull that I couldn't finish reading it.El libro era tan aburrido que no fui capaz de terminar de leérmelo.
b. soso 
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.
5. (listless) 
a. desanimado 
I'm feeling dull these days; I think I need a tonic.Me siento desanimado estos días; creo que necesito un tónico.
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.
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!
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.
Copyright © Curiosity Media Inc.
dull
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) (Latin America) 
c. zonzo(a) (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 
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 
Copyright © 2006 Harrap Publishers Limited
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
Collins Complete Spanish Electronic Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
Examples
'dull' in our machine translators
Learn Spanish with Fluencia, the easiest way to learn Spanish from the creators of SpanishDict
Explore SpanishDict
We've combined the most accurate English to Spanish translations, dictionary, verb conjugations, and Spanish to English translators into one very powerful search box.
Learn Spanish with Fluencia
Try Fluencia, the new Spanish learning program from SpanishDict.
  • Fun and interactive
  • Highly effective
  • Easy to use
  • Works on any device
Start Learning
Did this page answer your question?