Dullness

Definition: Dullness

Dullness

Noun

1. The quality of being slow to understand.

2. The quality of lacking interestingness.

3. A lack of visual brightness.

4. Without sharpness of edge or point.

Date "dullness" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1374. (references)

Note: Dullness \Dull"ness\, noun. The state of being dull; slowness; stupidity; heaviness; drowsiness; bluntness; obtuseness; dimness; want of luster; want of vividness, or of brightness. [Written also dulness.]. (Websters 1913)

Domain	Definition
Medicine	Lessened resonance of percussion sound. Source: European Union. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Dullness

Synonyms: bluntness (n), dulness (n), obtuseness (n). (additional references)

Antonyms: asperity (n), brightness (n), sharpness (n). (additional references)

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Dullness	Noun: dullness, heaviness, flatness; infestivity ; stupidity; want of originality; dearth of ideas.
Inactivity	Dullness; Adjective: languor; segnity, segnitude; lentor; sluggishness; (slowness); procrastination; (delay); torpor, torpidity, torpescence; stupor; (insensibility); somnolence; drowsiness; Adjective: nodding; Verb: oscitation, oscitancy; pandiculation, hypnotism, lethargy; statuvolence heaviness, heavy eyelids.
Insensibility	Noun: insensibility, insensibleness; moral insensibility; inertness, inertia; vis inertiae; impassibility, impassibleness; inappetency, apathy, phlegm, dullness, hebetude, supineness, lukewarmness.
Physical Inertness	Noun: inertness, dullness; Adjective: inertia, vis inertiae, inertion, inactivity, torpor, languor; quiescence; latency, inaction; passivity.
Wit	Phrase: adhibenda est in jocando moderatio; "gentle dullness ever loves a joke"; "leave this keen encounter of our wits"; just joking, just kidding; "surely you jest!".
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Crosswords: Dullness

English words defined with "dullness": boringness, Bromism ♦ dreariness, Duncery ♦ Foziness, Frigidness ♦ hebetude ♦ Inanimation, Indocility, Infestivity, Insulsity ♦ longueur ♦ Oscitancy, Owlism ♦ Prigidity ♦ Segnity ♦ tediousness, tedium, tiresomeness ♦ Undull. (references)

Specialty definitions using "dullness": Dullard ♦ FLAME-ANNEALING-MACHINE SETTER ♦ RUST, RUSTIC ♦ Sansom sign. (references)

Etymologies containing "dullness": Boeotian ♦ Foziness. (references)

Domain	Title
Books	The Crown prince of dullness (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Play	Caption
	Yawn; tired; exhausted; catch flies; divide; doze; drowse; expand; gap; gape; give; nap; part; sleep; snooze; spread; yaw; yawp; apathy; detachment; disgust; distaste; doldrums; dullness; ennui; fatigue; flatness; incuriosity; indifference; irksomeness; j.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Author	Quotation
Benjamin Franklin	Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.
Charles Churchill	Prudent dullness marked him for a mayor.
George Eliot	In all private quarrels the duller nature is triumphant by reason of dullness.
Oscar Wilde	Dullness is the coming of age of seriousness.
Robert E. Lee	The devil's name is dullness.
William Shakespeare	The dullness of the fool is the whetstone of the wits.
	Always the dullness of the fool is the whetstone of the wits.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Title	Author	Quote
Gulliver's Travels	Swift, Jonathan	The imperfections of his mind run parallel with those of his body, being a composition of spleen, dullness, ignorance, caprice, sensuality and pride.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		Other symptoms include gradual emotional dullness, loss of moral judgment, and progressive dementia. (references)
Lexicography	Devil's Dictionary	DULLARD, n. A member of the reigning dynasty in letters and life. The Dullards came in with Adam, and being both numerous and sturdy have overrun the habitable world. The secret of their power is their insensibility to blows; tickle them with a bludgeon and they laugh with a platitude. The Dullards came originally from Boeotia, whence they were driven by stress of starvation, their dullness having blighted the crops. For some centuries they infested Philistia, and many of them are called Philistines to this day. In the turbulent times of the Crusades they withdrew thence and gradually overspread all Europe, occupying most of the high places in politics, art, literature, science and theology. Since a detachment of Dullards came over with the Pilgrims in the Mayflower and made a favorable report of the country, their increase by birth, immigration, and conversion has been rapid and steady. According to the most trustworthy statistics the number of adult Dullards in the United States is but little short of thirty millions, including the statisticians. The intellectual centre of the race is somewhere about Peoria, Illinois, but the New England Dullard is the most shockingly moral.
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

"Dullness" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Dullness" is used about 66 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	100%	66	41,290

Expression using "dullness": area of cardiac dullness. Additional references.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Language		Translations for "dullness"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Arabic		‏ضجر (be fed up, bore, bored, boredom, fed up, give up, importune, irk, plumb, tedium, tire, tiredness, weariness, weary), ‏بلاهة (brainlessness, density, idiocy, imbecility, retardation, rot, silliness, stupidity), ‏بلادة (lethargy, sluggishness, stupidity, torpidity, torpor). (various references)

Bulgarian		униние (damp, dejection, despond, despondency, doldrums, droop, mopes, sadness), тъпост, тъпота (bluntness, crassitude, density, obtuseness, opacity, purblindness, stolidity, stupidity, torpidity, torpor), отегчителност (flatness, prolixity), мъглявина (mist, nebula, nebulosity), матовост, застой (deadlock, depression, dog days, halt, slack, stagnation, standstill, stasis, tie up), притъпеност. (various references)

Chinese		�'�涩. (various references)

Czech		tupost (abyss of ignorance, obtuseness, thickness), stagnace (slump, stagnation), nudnost, nechápavost (ineptitude, ineptness, slowness), hloupost (fatuity, fatuousness, foolishness, garbage, ineptitude, ineptness, lunacy, silliness, simplicity, stupidity, trifle). (various references)

Danish		dumhed (mental deficiency), tungnemhed, stump (blunt, dull, obtuse), mat (dull, flat, matt), indskrænkethed (mental deficiency), grumset farvetone (dull, matt), afstumpning (blunted perceptibility, torpor), afstumpethed (hebetude, torpor). (various references)

Dutch		domheid (mental deficiency, torpor), dofheid (apathy), stompheid (dull, hebetude, matt), stomp (blunt, dull, obtuse), matheid (torpor), mat (dim, frosted, mat, tired), gematteerd (dull, matt), bekrompenheid (mental deficiency). (various references)

Finnish		tylsyys (apathy, bluntness, stupor), hiomattomuus (lack of polish), himmenys (dimness, obscurity). (various references)

French		tristesse, stupidité (dulling), platitude, mat (dull, dusky), lourdeur d'esprit (dulling), lassitude, léthargie, insensibilité, inintelligence, esprit borné, caractère ennuyeux. (various references)

German		Unlust (inappetence, inappetency, listlessness, reluctance, slackness), Schwerfälligkeit (awkwardness, clumsiness, cumbersomeness, heaviness, inelegance, phlegm, ponderousness, slowness), Dumpfheit (dulledness, muffledness, mustiness, stiflingness, stuffiness, vagueness), Dummheit (brutishness, denseness, foolery, foolishness, gabbiness, greenness, idiocy, inanity, misstep, nonsense, oafishness, obtuseness, silliness, stupidity, thickness, witlessness). (various references)

Greek		νωθρότητα (indolence, listlessness, slackness, sloth, slovenliness, sluggishness), μάτ (dull, matt), πνευματική ανεπάρκεια (mental deficiency), ηλιθιότητα (cretinism, fatuousness, gawkiness, idiocy, imbecility, oafishness, stupidity, stupidness, tomfoolery), ανιαρότητα (stodginess, vapidness, weariness, wearisomeness), ανοστιά (insipidity, tastlessness), αμβλύτητα (obtuseness), αδράνεια (dormancy, inaction, inactivity, inertia, inertness, remissness, stupor, vegetativeness), θαμπός (dim, dusty). (various references)

Hebrew		שעמום (bore, boredom, dreariness, dryness, humdrum, monotony, prosiness, tedium), ק�"ות (bluntness, numbness, sourness, stupor, torpor), עמימות (dimness, opacity, opaqueness), אטימות (impenetrability, obtuseness, opacity, opaqueness, tightness, waterproof), �"שתעממות (being bored, boredom, tediousness, tedium). (various references)

Hungarian		unalom (bore, boredom, ennui, tedium, weariness), tompaság (bluntness, obtuseness), lanyhaság. (various references)

Indonesian		ketumpulan (bluntness), kedinginan (be very cold, coldness). (various references)

Italian		durezza (flintiness, hardness, harshness, horniness, severity, stiffness, stoniness, toughness), torpore (numbness, stupefaction, torpor), ottusit� (bluntness, obtuseness), noia (annoyance, bore, boredom, bother, ennui, molestation, nuisance, tedium, trouble), monotonia (humdrum, monotony, sameness), matt (dull, matt), insensibilit� (insensibility, lovelessness, unkindness). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		鈍才 (dull person, stupidity), 不振 (depression, slump, stagnation). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		たるみ (letdown, slack, slackening), た�"ちょう (bird-watching, Japanese crane, minor key, monotone, monotony, red-crested white crane), ふし�" (building, center of buoyancy, construction, depression, discredit, disloyalty, distrust, doing everything one can, doubt, incomplete understanding, infidelity, insincerity, mistrust, perfidy, question, racking one's brains, slump, stagnation, strangeness, suspicion, taking pains to, unfaithfulness), ふび�" (compassion, inability, pity, unworthiness), ど�"さい (dull person, stupidity), ど�"じゅう (bovinity, slow-witted, thickheaded), か�"そうむみ (dryness), ていちょう (captain, courteous, hospitable, inactive, low tide, low tone, polite, slack, slow, sluggish, undertone, weakness), ちど�" (dull-witted, stupidity), ち�"せい (appeasement, calm, pacification, quiet, stillness, tranquility). (various references)

Korean		지루함. (various references)

Manx		neugloasid, mooirjeenid, moandys (bluntness, hesitancy, impediment of speech), moandid (bluntness, hesitancy, impediment of speech, inarticulate, inarticulateness, slur), mellid (backwardness, decrepitude, deliberateness, deliberation, faultiness, feebleness, flimsiness, poorness, slowness), dullyraght (fuzz, opacity), drommid (torpidity). (various references)

Pig Latin		ullnessday

Portuguese		torpor (daze, lethargy, numbness, slumber), opaco (dim, mat, matted), mate (dull, matt, matte), letargia (coma, lethargy, stupor, torpidity), insensibilidade (callousness, flintiness, indolence, induration, insensibility, stupor), baço (brown, dim, dingy, ill humor, ill humour, lacklustre, lustreless, swarthy, tarnished), aridez (aridity, baldness, barrenness, drought, dry, dryness). (various references)

Romanian		dobitocie (rot, stupidity), tristeţe (blue, damp, dejection, depression, gloom, heaviness, melancholy, mourning, sadness), lene (idleness, inaction, languor, laziness, sloth), lâncezealã (apathy, atony, flatness, languishment, lassitude, torpor, weakness). (various references)

Russian		тупость (bluntness, hebetude, obtuseness, opaqueness, stupidity, woodenness). (various references)

Scottish		cianalas (melancholy, pensiveness). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		dosada (boredom, ennui, heretofore, hitherto, humdrum, idleness, monotony, tedium), tupost (bluntness, stolidity, stupor, thickness, torpidity). (various references)

Spanish		torpor (torpor), paño (broadcloth, cloth, duster, flaw, hangings, material, mist, pack, panel, sails, towel, wall, width, wool), opaco (opaque), mate (checkmate, dull, dummy, gourd, mat, mate, Matt, matted), lo opaco, lo deslustrado (dinginess), lo aburrido, letargia (lethargy, torpor). (various references)

Swedish		trubbighet, slöhet (aparthy, apathy, bluntness, indolence, inertia, languor, lassitude, laziness, lethargy, sloth, spend, torpidity, torpor), matthet (faintness, languor, lassitude, tarnish, weakness), enformighet (monotony, sameness, uniformity). (various references)

Turkish		donukluk (blur, deadness, dimness, dinginess, halation, inanimation, opaqueness, tarnish, veiling), sersemlik (daze, dizziness, fuddle, giddiness, muddle, silliness, stupidity, stupor), körlük (blindness, darkness), can sıkıntısı (blahs, boredom, ennui, megrims, tedium, the blues, the megrims), ağırlık (arduousness, avoirdupois, force of gravity, gravity, heaviness, heft, massiveness, plummet, ponderosity, richness, severity, slowness, weight, weightiness). (various references)

Ukrainian		сумовитість, тупість (beetle, obtuseness, obtusity, opaqueness, oscitancy, oscitation, torpor), нудьга (bore, boredom, damp, distemper, ennui, insipidity, insipidness, monotony, mope, needle, tedium, yearn, yearning), неповороткість (heaviness). (various references)

Vietnamese		vẻ xám xịt tính lờ mờ (dulness), vẻ uể oải (dulness), vẻ u ám (dulness), vẻ tẻ ngắt vẻ tối tăm (dulness), vẻ chậm chạp sự ứ đọng (dulness), vẻ ảm đạm (dulness), vẻ âm u (dulness), tính xỉn (dulness), tính mờ đục (dulness, opaqueness), tính không thính (dulness), tính không rõ rệt (doubtfulness, dulness), sự ngu đần (doltishness, dulness, stupidity), sự chậm hiểu (dulness, inapprehensiveness), sự đần độn tính không tinh (dulness), chán ngắt (dull, dully, dulness, long-winded, mouldy, pedestrian, prosaic, tedious, wearied, weary). (various references)

Welsh		pylni (bluntness). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Language	Period	Translations
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	stupor. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "dullness": dullnesses. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Dullness" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Dalness, Dollenz, Dulbecos. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "dullness" (pronounced du"lnus)
4	-l n u s	awfulness, casualness, coolness, fickleness, forcefulness, foulness, fullness, gentleness, harmfulness, hopefulness, idleness, illness, peacefulness, playfulness, reasonableness, resourcefulness, smallness, stillness, thoughtfulness, truthfulness, usefulness, wastefulness, wellness, wholeness, wistfulness, wonderfulness.
3	-n u s	abruptness, absoluteness, acuteness, aggressiveness, agribusiness, airworthiness, alertness, aloofness, alumnus, Anas, androgynous, anise, appropriateness, arbitrariness, assertiveness, astuteness, asynchronous, attentiveness, attractiveness, awareness, awkwardness, backwardness, badness, bagginess, baldness, bearishness, bigness, bitterness, bituminous, blackness, blandness, bleakness, blindness, bluntness, boldness, bonus, boorishness, brashness, brightness, bullishness, business, callousness, calmness, carelessness, cautiousness, cavernous, cheapness, chitinous, cleanliness, cleanness, cleverness, closeness, cloudiness, clumsiness, cockiness, cohesiveness, coldness, Colonus, combativeness, compactness, competitiveness, completeness, consciousness, contagiousness, contentiousness, contrariness, Conus, correctness, coziness, craziness, creativeness, creditworthiness, creepiness, crispness, crookedness, cuteness, dampness, darkness, Deaconess, deadliness, deafness, decisiveness, defensiveness, destructiveness, directness, disingenuousness, distinctiveness, divisiveness, dizziness, dreariness, drowsiness, drunkenness, dryness, eagerness, earnestness, edginess, effectiveness, elusiveness, emptiness, evenness, exogenous, eyewitness, faintness, fairness, farsightedness, fastness, firmness, fitness, flatness, fondness, foolishness, forgiveness, forthrightness, fractiousness, frankness, freshness, friendliness, frothiness, funniness, furnace, gauntness, gayness, gelatinous, genuineness, genus, ghastliness, gluttonous, goodness, governess, graciousness, greatness, greenness, grimness, hairiness, handedness, happiness, hardness, harness, harshness, heinous, helplessness, highness, hoarseness, holiness, homelessness, homesickness, homogenous, hopelessness, humanness, inclusiveness, indebtedness, indecisiveness, indigenous, ineffectiveness, ineptness, inertness, intravenous, intrusiveness, inventiveness, joblessness, Johannes, kindness, larcenous, largeness, lateness, lawlessness, laziness, lenis, lightfastness, lightness, likeness, liveliness, loneliness, lousiness, luminous, madness, Manus, meanness, membranous, menace, Minas, mindedness, minus, monotonous, mountainous, mutinous, narrowness, nastiness, nearsightedness, neatness, nervousness, newness, niceness, niggardliness, nitrogenous, nonbusiness, nonpoisonous, nosiness, nothingness, numbness, ominous, oneness, onus, openness, orderliness, otherness, outrageousness, outspokenness, pandanus, penis, permissiveness, persuasiveness, pervasiveness, pettiness, poisonous, politeness, polygynous, pompousness, possessiveness, powerlessness, preparedness, queasiness, quickness, quietness, raciness, randomness, rareness, ravenous, rawness, readiness, rebelliousness, recklessness, redness, remoteness, resistiveness, responsiveness, restiveness, restlessness, restrictiveness, richness, righteousness, rightness, riskiness, robustness, roominess, roughness, rowdiness, rudeness, ruinous, ruthlessness, sacredness, sadness, Salinas, sameness, scantiness, secretiveness, selfishness, selflessness, sensitiveness, separateness, seriousness, shakiness, shallowness, sharpness, shortness, shortsightedness, shrewdness, shyness, sickness, silliness, sinus, skittishness, slackness, sleepiness, sloppiness, slovenliness, slowness, sluggishness, slyness, smoothness, smugness, softness, solitariness, soundness, spiritedness, squeamishness, starkness, steadfastness, steadiness, steepness, sternness, stiffness, stinginess, stoutness, strangeness, stubbornness, sturdiness, suddenness, suggestiveness, sweetness, swiftness, tardiness, tartness, tastiness, tenderness, tetanus, thickness, thinness, thoroughness, tightness, timeliness, tiredness, togetherness, toughness, trustworthiness, ugliness, unconsciousness, uneasiness, unfairness, unhappiness, uniqueness, unpleasantness, unwieldiness, unwillingness, vagueness, vastness, venous, viciousness, villainous, vindictiveness, vividness, voluminous, wariness, waterishness, weakness, weariness, weightlessness, weirdness, wetness, whiteness, wholesomeness, wickedness, wilderness, wildness, willingness, wimpiness, witness, worldliness, worthiness, wryness.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "d-e-l-l-n-s-s-u"
	-1 letter: dulness, unsells.
	-2 letters: dulses, nulled, snells, sullen, unless, unsell.
	-3 letters: dells, duels, dulls, dulse, dunes, lends, leuds, ludes, lunes, nudes, nulls, sells, sends, sleds, slued, slues, sneds, snell, unled.
	-4 letters: dell, dels, dens, duel, dues, dull, dune, duns, elds, ells, ends, lend, lens, less, leud, lude, lues, lune, ness, nude, null, sell, sels, send.
	Words containing the letters "d-e-l-l-n-s-s-u"
	+2 letters: dullnesses, undersells.
	+3 letters: boundlessly, dauntlessly, dolefulness, soundlessly.
	+4 letters: groundlessly, groundswells, indissoluble, laudableness, slanderously.
	+5 letters: cloudlessness, disillusioned, dolefulnesses, unworldliness.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

Expression	Frequency per Day
dullness	2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Dullness

Definition: Dullness

Dullness

Noun

Specialty Definition: Dullness

Medicine

Synonyms: Dullness

Synonyms within Context: Dullness

Dullness

Inactivity

Insensibility

Physical Inertness

Wit

Crosswords: Dullness

Commercial Usage: Dullness

Books

Sounds Captioned with "Dullness".

Familiar Quotations: Dullness

Benjamin Franklin

Charles Churchill

George Eliot

Oscar Wilde

Robert E. Lee

William Shakespeare

Use in Literature: Dullness

Gulliver's Travels

Swift, Jonathan

Non-Fiction Usage: Dullness

Health

Lexicography

Devil's Dictionary

Usage Frequency: Dullness

Expression: Dullness

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Dullness

dullness

Modern Translation: Dullness

Arabic

Bulgarian

Chinese

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Finnish

French

German

Greek

Hebrew

Hungarian

Indonesian

Italian

Japanese Kanji

Japanese Katakana

Korean

Manx

Pig Latin

Portuguese

Romanian

Russian

Scottish

Serbo-Croatian

Spanish

Swedish

Turkish

Ukrainian

Vietnamese

Welsh

Ancestral Language Translations: Dullness

Derivations & Misspellings: Dullness

Derivations

Misspellings

Rhyming with "Dullness"

Anagrams: Dullness

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

INDEX