Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to dull
Participle: dulled
Gerund: dulling
Cognates
-
Indicative
Present
| I | dull |
| you | dull |
| he;she;it | dulls |
| we | dull |
| you | dull |
| they | dull |
Perfect
| I | have dulled |
| you | have dulled |
| he;she;it | has dulled |
| we | have dulled |
| you | have dulled |
| they | have dulled |
Past
| I | dulled |
| you | dulled |
| he;she;it | dulled |
| we | dulled |
| you | dulled |
| they | dulled |
Pluperfect
| I | had dulled |
| you | had dulled |
| he;she;it | had dulled |
| we | had dulled |
| you | had dulled |
| they | had dulled |
Future
| I | will dull |
| you | will dull |
| he;she;it | will dull |
| we | will dull |
| you | will dull |
| they | will dull |
Future Perfect
| I | will have dulled |
| you | will have dulled |
| he;she;it | will have dulled |
| we | will have dulled |
| you | will have dulled |
| they | will have dulled |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | dull |
| you | dull |
| he;she;it | dull |
| we | dull |
| you | dull |
| they | dull |
Perfect
| I | have dulled |
| you | have dulled |
| he;she;it | have dulled |
| we | have dulled |
| you | have dulled |
| they | have dulled |
Imperfect
| I | dulled |
| you | dulled |
| he;she;it | dulled |
| we | dulled |
| you | dulled |
| they | dulled |
Pluperfect
| I | had dulled |
| you | had dulled |
| he;she;it | had dulled |
| we | had dulled |
| you | had dulled |
| they | had dulled |
Conditional
Present
| I | would dull |
| you | would dull |
| he;she;it | would dull |
| we | would dull |
| you | would dull |
| they | would dull |
Perfect
| I | would have dulled |
| you | would have dulled |
| he;she;it | would have dulled |
| we | would have dulled |
| you | would have dulled |
| they | would have dulled |
Imperative
| you | dull |
| we | Let's dull |
| you | dull |
Verbs conjugated like 'dull'
abandon,
abduct,
abear,
aberr,
abject,
abord,
abort,
abound,
abraid,
abray,
abrook,
abscind,
abscond,
absist,
absorb,
abstain,
abstract,
accend,
accent,
accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'dull'
bull,
cull,
dill,
duel,
full,
gull,
hull,
lull,
mull,
null,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
- to make physically dirty
- assoil, beclart, bedaub, bedirty, bedizen, befile, befoul, begrime, beray, besully, bewray, blacken, blot, blur, contaminate, darken, denigrate, dirty, drag through the mud, foil, foul, gunk, gunk up, inquinate, pollute, sling mud, slotter, slur, smutch, soss, sowl, spot, stain, sullow, taint, tarnish, uggle
- deaden
- shackle, dim, benumb, hebetate, soften, blunt, tarnish, obtund
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
1. From Middle English dull, dul (also dyll, dill, dwal), from Old English dol (“dull, foolish, erring, heretical; foolish, silly; presumptuous”), from Proto-West Germanic *dol, from Proto-Germanic *dulaz, from earlier *dwulaz, a variant of *dwalaz (“stunned, mad, foolish, misled”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwel-, *dʰewel- (“to dim, dull, cloud, make obscure, swirl, whirl”).
2. Cognate with Scots dull, doll (“slow to understand or hear, deaf, dull”), North Frisian dol (“rash, unthinking, giddy, flippant”), Dutch dol (“crazy, mad, insane”), Low German dul, dol (“mad, silly, stupid, fatuous”), German toll (“crazy, mad, wild, fantastic”), Danish dval (“foolish, absurd”), Icelandic dulur (“secretive, silent”), West-Flemish dul (angry, furious).
Sample Sentences
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Years of misuse have dulled the tools.
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This […] dulled their swords. [a. 1627 (date written), Francis [Bacon], “Considerations Touching a Warre with Spaine. […]”, in William Rawley, editor, Certaine Miscellany Works of the Right Honourable Francis Lo. Verulam, Viscount S. Alban. […], London: […] I. Hauiland for Humphrey Robinson, […], published 1629, →OCLC:]
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He drinks to dull the pain.
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Those [drugs] she has / Will stupefy and dull the sense a while. [1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene vi]:]
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Use and custom have so dulled our eyes. [1850, Richard Chenevix Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord:]
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A razor will dull with use.