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dullness

dullness

1 3.4
A feeling of low emotion and little interest
  • noun
  • /ˈdʌlnəs/
translation icon : insensibilidad
  • By just decreasing the dullness of your environment, you challenge your neurons and build your creativity.

Examples

  • So often, the boys who come in here must report the dullness of their carefully conceived young lives.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Although nothing else that dramatic ever happened to me, the dullness of school was a dreadful experience.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • A dullness he had never known before spread through his body.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • I was struck by the attempt to take away the dullness in her project.

    Blog text (28)
  • That initial anger she felt had turned to sadness, and now it had become something else, almost a dullness of sorts.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • There would be no harm in them if they simply concluded that language study was not for them, out of dullness or ignorance.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • The smoke tasted like burning straw in his mouth, but after a while, it created a sort of dullness in his mind.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The dullness I have felt since New Year's vanished, and I had to work very hard to appear appropriately sober.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Hildegard of Bingen said, "We shall awaken from our dullness and rise vigorously toward justice."

    Blog text (13)
  • After years of routine and monotony, he felt a dullness in his spirit that made everything seem unexciting.

Synonyms

numbness
vsdullness
5 4.6

A lack of feeling or interest in things often after long stress

is broader, meaning unfeeling and unresponsive rather than mere low interest
boringness
vsdullness
2 3.8

A state that makes you lose interest

is broader, covering unfeeling indifference as well as mere tedium
blandness
vsdullness
1 4.1

A pleasant, polite style that feels too safe or insincere

is harsher, meaning unfeeling and lacking real emotional engagement
deadness
vsdullness
1 5.3

A state of no life or energy that makes a person feel empty

is about emotional unresponsiveness rather than only physical lack of life
dreariness
vsdullness
1 6.2

A dull, gloomy feeling that makes things seem not interesting

points to unfeeling lack of responsiveness rather than only gloomy mood
flatness
vsdullness
1 4.9

A lack of taste and energy in food or writing

is more about emotional unresponsiveness than only stylistic plainness
lifelessness
vsdullness
1 5.4

A lack of life, energy, or movement

focuses more on lacking emotional sensitivity instead of physical stillness
vapidity
vsdullness
1 9.3

A lack of energy and interest in speech or writing

leans toward unfeeling indifference rather than merely weak spirit
drabness
vsdullness
1 5.1

A plain, dull appearance with no bright color or style

focuses on emotional unresponsiveness rather than only being visually plain
insipidity
vsdullness
1 9.6

Lack of flavor or interest that makes something dull

focuses on unfeeling indifference rather than simple tastelessness
vapidness
vsdullness
8.4

A feeling that something is dull and boring

is more about emotional unresponsiveness than shallow uninspired content
insipidness
vsdullness
8.2

Being dull and without strong taste or interest

centres on lacking emotional sensitivity rather than only lacking zest
tiresomeness
vsdullness
5.6

A boring feeling caused by something that lasts a long time

is more about emotional unresponsiveness rather than only being tiresome
tameness
vsdullness
5.8

The quality of being boring and unoriginal

centres on emotional indifference rather than lacking novelty or edge
prosaicness
vsdullness
9.1

The quality of being ordinary and not exciting

is about being unfeeling and unresponsive rather than merely ordinary
stodginess
vsdullness
  • UK
8.4

A serious, old-fashioned style that feels boring

indicates unfeeling lack of sensitivity rather than merely formal heaviness

Compounds

8.8

A triangular area on the front of the chest where the heart makes a dull sound when tapped

How Sensitive

sensitivity
100 3.9
empathy
154 3.2
dullness
1 3.4
callousness
6 7.4

Surface Forms

dullness singular
dullnesses plural

Morphology

dullness = dull (transparent) = dull + ness

A straightforward nominalization of 'dull' in the emotional/sensitive sense; the quality is directly named by '-ness'.

Etymology

A helpful way to remember dullness (about feeling) is to think of a knife that has lost its edge: the person feels 'blunted' and not very responsive. So dullness here means a lack of emotional sensitivity or liveliness.