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Glite Dictionary
🌫️ Somewhat boring ✂️ Not very sharp 😑 Slightly slow-thinking
dullish

dullish

5.8
Slow to understand things
  • adjective
  • /ˈdʌlɪʃ/
  • Offensive
translation icon : tonto
  • Don't be so dullish!

Examples

  • He gave a dullish response, clearly not fully awake yet.

  • After the sleepless night she felt dullish and struggled to follow the professor's argument.

  • The meeting was so early that everyone seemed a bit dullish at first.

  • Is he always this dullish in discussions?

  • The teacher described John's performance as dullish, suggesting he needed to pay more attention in class.

  • Although she enjoyed her job, she felt the work was becoming dullish and repetitive over time.

  • His dullish response to the exciting news made everyone wonder if he really understood what had happened.

Synonyms

dull
vsdullish
  • Offensive
19 2.8

Slow to notice or react to things

is milder meaning only a slight lack of alertness
dim-witted
vsdullish
  • Offensive
6 5.6

Not quick to understand or learn

is milder meaning only slight slowness in understanding
gormless
vsdullish
  • Offensive
1 9.9

Someone who is not smart and slow to understand

focuses only on slight slowness in understanding rather than lacking drive
thickish
vsdullish
  • Offensive
7.9

A little slow to understand things

is milder and more neutral in tone than that informal usage
low-thoughted
vsdullish
  • Offensive
9.9

Showing little intelligence and only simple ideas

focuses on mild slowness in understanding rather than shallow thinking

Antonyms

intelligent
507 3.4

Able to think, understand, and learn new things

sharp
152 3.3

Quick at noticing small details and understanding things

How Sharp

sharp
152 3.3
alert
82 2.8
dull
  • Offensive
19 2.8
dullish
  • Offensive
5.8
slow
  • Offensive
297 4.4

Surface Forms

dullish positive

Morphology

dullish = dull (transparent) = dull + ish

The mental-quality sense is a direct extension: 'dull' (not mentally sharp) + '-ish' (somewhat), so the nuance is predictable.

Etymology

Dullish comes from the word dull plus the ending -ish, where dull can mean 'slow to understand' and -ish means 'somewhat'. So dullish is a simple way to say someone feels 'a bit slow' or not fully alert.