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bland

bland

23 2.0
Food that has a very weak taste and little or no strong flavor
  • adjective
  • /blænd/
translation icon : soso
  • He described the movie as bland, lacking any excitement or compelling characters.
  • bland diet

It was meat, vegetables and rice and it was bland just in salt.

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Examples

  • The meals there are institutional: largely bland, unappealing, and prepared with only nutrition in mind.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Max had no appetite; the food all tasted bland to him.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • It's only been here for a couple of days, so yes, it looks very bland and sad in the pot.

  • I knew from looking at the pages that it would be too bland and too bitter.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • It's a little bland, but you know, can I have some gravy as well?

  • So one of the biggest misconceptions that we have is that children need to eat bland food, and nothing could be further from the truth.

    ZOE
  • My mother, without a doubt, cooks the most bland food in the world.

  • The meat was kind of chewy, the soup was bland, the vegetables were bland.

  • The soup tasted so bland that I had to add spices to make it flavorful.

  • Many children prefer their foods to be bland rather than too spicy or salty.

Synonyms

boring
vsbland
721 1.0

Not interesting and making you feel tired or impatient

can refer to food that is plain or shows no excitement in taste
flat
vsbland
297 4.4

Not lively and often weak in taste or sound

is often about mild taste as well as lack of liveliness
dull
vsbland
182 1.3

Not interesting or lively

often applies to both weak taste and lack of interest in context
lackluster
vsbland
  • US
30 6.1

Dull and showing little energy

is used for food or things that have no strong flavor
weak
vsbland
22 1.3

Not strong in taste, thin and watery

refers to lack of strength in taste rather than plain uninteresting
uninteresting
vsbland
20 1.4

Not exciting and likely to make people bored

often describes the lack of taste as well as lack of interest
insipid
vsbland
17 7.3

Having little taste and being boring

is mainly about plainness rather than strong flavor
nondescript
vsbland
17 7.1

Not having special or interesting features so it does not stand out

is a general label for things that lack clear or strong flavor
uninspired
vsbland
14 4.0

Not having new or interesting ideas

is used when taste or style shows no imagination or spark
tasteless
vsbland
11 2.6

Having little or no flavor when you eat it

is used more for food but also means dull or uninteresting
uninspiring
vsbland
7 3.5

Not interesting or exciting

is applied to taste or other things that fail to excite
colorless
vsbland
  • US
4 3.9

Not interesting or exciting

suggests absence of vividness, which can apply to taste or style
flavorless
vsbland
  • US
4 3.5

Food that has little or no taste and seems bland

is more about mildness and being uninteresting than total lack of taste
unappetizing
vsbland
4 4.8

Not looking, smelling, or tasting good so you do not want to eat it

focuses on appeal to eat, not only on weak or uninteresting taste
mild-tasting
vsbland
1 3.4

Having a gentle, not strong taste

is often negative and suggests uninteresting rather than merely gentle taste
too vanilla
vsbland
  • Informal
1 8.5

Plain and not interesting with no new ideas

is more about simple taste or lack of flavor than style
savorless
vsbland
  • US
7.5

Having very little taste

focuses equally on being uninteresting as on lacking taste
vapid
vsbland
8.2

Food or drink that has little taste

is broader and also describes simple uninterest, not just lack of taste
untasty
vsbland
4.9

Food or a dish that is not pleasant to eat because it has little taste

can describe mild dullness but focuses on lack of good taste
dullish
vsbland
3.7

Not bright in color and not very interesting

is milder in degree, showing only slight dullness

Antonyms

175 1.0

Food or drink with a pleasant flavor that people enjoy

141 1.0

Food that has a very hot taste and makes your mouth burn

18 2.3

Having a strong, pleasant taste

Compounds

1 3.5

A set of plain, mild foods that are easy to digest

How Tasty

flavorful
  • US
18 2.3
tasty
175 1.0
bland
23 2.0
tasteless
11 2.6

Surface Forms

bland positive
blander comparative
blandest superlative

Etymology

Bland comes from the Latin word blandus, which meant 'mild' or 'pleasant'. Think of food that is 'mild' and never strong on the tongue, so a bland diet has no strong taste.