dull: [13] Dull originally meant ‘slow-witted’. It was borrowed from Middle Low German dul, a descendant of the prehistoric Germanic adjective *dulaz, which also produced German toll and Old English dol ‘stupid’ (the Old English adjective does not seem to have survived beyond the 10th century). The modern meaning ‘boring’ developed in the 15th century. The now littleused dullard [15] is a derivative (reflecting the adjective’s original sense), as also is probably dolt [16]. => dolt
dull (adj.)
c. 1200, "stupid;" early 13c., "blunt, not sharp;" rare before mid-14c., apparently from Old English dol "dull-witted, foolish," or an unrecorded parallel word, or from Middle Low German dul "slow-witted," both from Proto-Germanic *dulaz (cognates: Old Frisian and Old Saxon dol "foolish," Old High German tol, German toll "mad, wild," Gothic dwals "foolish"), from PIE *dheu- (1) "dust, vapor, smoke" (and related notions of "defective perception or wits"). Of color from early 15c.; of pain or other sensations from 1725. Sense of "boring" first recorded 1580s.
dull. (8) Not exhilarating; not delightful; as to make dictionaries is dull work. [Johnson]
Dullsville, slang for "town where nothing happens," attested from 1960.
dull (v.)
c. 1200, "to grow weary, tire;" of pointed or edged things from c. 1400; of the senses from 1550s; from dull (adj.). Related: Dulled; dulling.
实用例句
1. The evidence was read out to the court in a dull monotone.
证据被当庭呆板地宣读了一遍。
来自柯林斯例句
2. I found the characters very two-dimensional, not to say dull.
我觉得那些人物形象即使不说是乏味无聊，至少也是毫无深度。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Broadcast news was accurate and reliable but deadly dull.
新闻广播准确可靠但却非常枯燥。
来自柯林斯例句
4. He is a dull writer and that's a fact.
他写的东西很没意思，真的。
来自柯林斯例句
5. Not being a mother, I found the chit-chat exceedingly dull.
