to dull

Examples

• All

• Alcohol dulls the senses.

  Gothic Harvest (2019)

• But maybe enough to impair his... reactions, to dull his judgment.

  Fascination (2004)

• So when you bend into it, it really does dull the noise and you kind of embrace the pain.

  Mulligan Brothers Interviews

• So you're saying that most people look at money to dull their pain?

• The weak ones turn to drugs to dull the pain, but it never lasts for long, the emotions soon come back more intense than ever.

  Demons Never Die (2011)

• If I let it go that far, drugs will dull the pain, but won't erase it.

  Academic text (1996)

• You said overthinking dulls the wisdom found in action.

• All of her senses were dulled by exhaustion, including her sense of taste.

  Fiction book (1991)

• Sometimes its controlling role is unnoticed because our critical abilities have been dulled by too intimate familiarity.

  Academic text (1994)

• The medication helped to dull the pain after the surgery.

Synonyms

M

to muffle

vsto dull

64 5.8

To make a sound or feeling quieter so it is less noticeable

is broader, affecting brightness, pain, and clarity not just sounds

N

to numb

vsto dull

62 4.2

Make a body part and the mind unable to feel, often by cold or medicine

is stronger, causing loss of feeling rather than milder weakening

T

to tone down

vsto dull

44 3.7

To make something less strong, for example a sound, color or feeling

is general reduction without implying deliberate moderation

D

to damp

vsto dull

26 4.8

To make a sound or feeling less strong

is the broader term that covers similar weakening across senses

B

to blunt

vsto dull

21 4.2

To make a feeling or pain less strong

focuses on reducing physical sharpness as well as intensity

M

to mute

vsto dull

21 3.1

To stop a sound or notification from making noise

is about general reduction across senses rather than only silencing sounds

D

to dampen

vsto dull

16 4.4

Make something less strong or noticeable, for example sound and feeling

is used more generally to include sounds, feelings, and effects

B

to bore

vsto dull

15 1.4

To make someone feel tired or not interested by being dull when you speak

focuses on causing monotony, while the key reduces many other qualities

D

to dim

vsto dull

12 2.4

To become less bright or make a light weaker

covers brightness but also other qualities like intensity and clarity

D

to deaden

vsto dull

3 5.5

To make a feeling, sound, or pain less strong

is broader, also covering brightness, clarity, and interest

B

to benumb

vsto dull

1 8.5

To make a person unable to feel pain or strong emotion

is less extreme, reducing intensity rather than removing feeling entirely

P

to pall

vsto dull

1 7.2

To stop being interesting or enjoyable

is broader, also applying to sound, pain, brightness, and clarity

Antonyms

I

to intensify

110 4.0

Make something stronger or more intense

S

to sharpen

35 2.1

To make the edge or tip of something thin and able to cut, like a knife

B

to brighten

5 2.1

To become less cloudy with more light

Compounds

D

dull-purple

4.1

A soft purple colour that is not bright

D

dull-white

4.2

A white color that is not bright or shiny

How Intense

to soften

50 3.1

to blunt

21 4.2

to dull

33 3.4

to numb

62 4.2

Surface Forms

Etymology