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dull
dull / dəl/ • adj. 1. lacking interest or excitement: your diet doesn't have to be dull and boring. ∎ archaic (of a person) feeling bored and dispirited: she said she wouldn't be dull and lonely. 2. lacking brightness, vividness, or sheen: his face glowed in the dull lamplight | his black hair looked dull. ∎ (of the weather) overcast; gloomy: next morning dawned dull. ∎ (of sound) not clear; muffled: a dull thud of hooves. ∎ (of pain) indistinctly felt; not acute: there was a dull pain in his lower jaw. ∎ (of an edge or blade) blunt: a lot more people are cut with dull knives than with sharp ones. 3. (of a person) slow to understand; stupid: the voice of a teacher talking to a rather dull child. ∎ archaic (of a person's senses) not perceiving things distinctly; insensitive. ∎ (of activity) sluggish, slow-moving: gold closed lower in dull trading. • v. make or become dull or less intense: [tr.] time dulls the memory | [intr.] Albert's eyes dulled a little. PHRASES: (as) dull as dishwater extremely dull. dull the edge of cause to be less keenly felt; reduce the intensity or effectiveness of: she'd have to find something to dull the edges of the pain.DERIVATIVES: dull·ish adj. dull·ness (also dul·ness) n. dul·ly adv. |
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Cite this article
"dull." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "dull." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-dull.html "dull." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-dull.html |
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Paine, Albert Bigelow
Paine, Albert Bigelow (1861–1937), editor, dramatist, biographer, and author of several novels, is best known for his authorized three‐volume biography of Mark Twain (1912) and for his editorship of Twain's letters (1917). The title of one of Paine's plays, The Great White Way (1901), gave a familiar nickname to New York City's theatrical district.
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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Paine, Albert Bigelow." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Paine, Albert Bigelow." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-PaineAlbertBigelow.html James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Paine, Albert Bigelow." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-PaineAlbertBigelow.html |
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dull
dull not sharp of wit XIII; not brisk XIV; not clear or bright; tedious XV. — MLG., MDu. dul, corr. to OE. dol stupid (:- *dulaz), OS. (Du.) dol. OHG. tol (G. toll).
Hence dull vb. XIV. dullard XV. prob. — MDu. dull-, dollaert. |
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "dull." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "dull." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-dull.html T. F. HOAD. "dull." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-dull.html |
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dull
dull
•annul, cull, dull, gull, hull, lull, mull, null, scull, skull, Solihull, trull, Tull
•seagull • multihull • monohull
•numbskull • Elul
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Cite this article
"dull." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "dull." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-dull.html "dull." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-dull.html |
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