Dull vs. Lively — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Dull and Lively
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Compare with Definitions
Dull
Arousing little interest; lacking liveliness; boring
A dull movie.
Lively
Full of energy or alertness; vigorous or animated
A lively baby.
Lively eyes.
Dull
Not brisk or rapid; sluggish
Business has been dull.
Lively
Characterized by much activity or excitement
"You would have ... indulged in the rides, games and fast food on the lively boardwalks" (Sarah Milstein).
Dull
Not having a sharp edge or point; blunt
A dull knife.
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Lively
Quick-paced
A lively tune.
Dull
Not intensely or keenly felt
A dull ache.
Lively
Full of flavor or spice
A lively sauce.
Dull
Not bright, vivid, or shiny
A dull brown.
A glaze with a dull finish.
Lively
Stimulating and invigorating
A lively breeze.
Dull
Cloudy or overcast
A dull sky.
Lively
Rebounding readily upon impact; resilient
A lively tennis ball.
Dull
Not clear or resonant
A dull thud.
Lively
With energy or vigor; briskly
Step lively!.
Dull
Intellectually weak or obtuse; stupid.
Lively
Full of life; energetic.
Dull
Lacking responsiveness or alertness; insensitive
Half-asleep and dull to the noises in the next room.
Lively
Bright, glowing, vivid; strong, vigorous.
Dull
Dispirited; depressed
A dull mood.
Lively
(archaic) Endowed with or manifesting life; living.
Dull
To make or become dull.
Lively
(archaic) Representing life; lifelike.
Dull
Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp.
All these knives are dull.
Lively
(archaic) Airy; animated; spirited.
Dull
Boring; not exciting or interesting.
He sat through the dull lecture and barely stayed awake.
Lively
(of beer) Fizzy; foamy; tending to produce a large head in the glass.
Dull
Not shiny; having a matte finish or no particular luster or brightness.
Choose a dull finish to hide fingerprints.
A dull fire or lamp;
A dull red or yellow;
A dull mirror
Lively
Term of address.
Dull
Not bright or intelligent; stupid; having slow understanding.
Lively
Vigorously.
Dull
Sluggish, listless.
Lively
Vibrantly, vividly.
Dull
Cloudy, overcast.
It's a dull day.
Lively
(obsolete) In a lifelike manner.
Dull
Insensible; unfeeling.
Lively
Endowed with or manifesting life; living.
Chaplets of gold and silver resembling lively flowers and leaves.
Dull
Heavy; lifeless; inert.
Lively
Brisk; vivacious; active; as, a lively youth.
But wherefore comes old Manoa in such haste,With youthful steps ? Much livelier than erewhileHe seems.
Dull
(of pain etc) Not intense; felt indistinctly or only slightly.
Pressing on the bruise produces a dull' pain.
Lively
Gay; airy; animated; spirited.
From grave to gay, from lively to severe.
Dull
Not clear, muffled.
Lively
Representing life; lifelike.
I spied the lively picture of my father.
Dull
(transitive) To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp.
Years of misuse have dulled the tools.
Lively
Bright; vivid; glowing; strong; vigorous.
The colors of the prism are manifestly more full, intense, and lively that those of natural bodies.
His faith must be not only living, but lively too.
Dull
(transitive) To soften, moderate or blunt; to make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy.
He drinks to dull the pain.
Lively
In a brisk, active, or animated manner; briskly; vigorously.
Dull
(intransitive) To lose a sharp edge; to become dull.
A razor will dull with use.
Lively
With strong resemblance of life.
Thou counterfeitest most lively.
Dull
To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish.
Lively
Full of life and energy;
A lively discussion
Lively and attractive parents
A lively party
Dull
Slow of understanding; wanting readiness of apprehension; stupid; doltish; blockish.
She is not bred so dull but she can learn.
Lively
Full of zest or vigor;
A racy literary style
Dull
Slow in action; sluggish; unready; awkward.
This people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing.
O, help my weak wit and sharpen my dull tongue.
Lively
Quick and energetic;
A brisk walk in the park
A lively gait
A merry chase
Traveling at a rattling rate
A snappy pace
A spanking breeze
Dull
Insensible; unfeeling.
Think me notSo dull a devil to forget the lossOf such a matchless wife.
Lively
Rebounds readily;
Clean bouncy hair
A lively tennis ball
As resiliant as seasoned hickory
Springy turf
Dull
Not keen in edge or point; lacking sharpness; blunt.
Lively
Filled with events or activity;
A lively period in history
Dull
Not bright or clear to the eye; wanting in liveliness of color or luster; not vivid; obscure; dim; as, a dull fire or lamp; a dull red or yellow; a dull mirror.
Lively
Full of spirit;
A dynamic full of life woman
A vital and charismatic leader
This whole lively world
Dull
Heavy; gross; cloggy; insensible; spiritless; lifeless; inert.
As turning the logs will make a dull fire burn, so changes of study a dull brain.
Lively
Characterized by energetic activity;
A lively baby
Dull
Furnishing little delight, spirit, or variety; uninteresting; tedious; cheerless; gloomy; melancholy; depressing; as, a dull story or sermon; a dull occupation or period; hence, cloudy; overcast; as, a dull day.
Along life's dullest, dreariest walk.
Dull
To deprive of sharpness of edge or point.
Borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
Dull
To make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy, as the senses, the feelings, the perceptions, and the like.
Those [drugs] she hasWill stupefy and dull the sense a while.
Use and custom have so dulled our eyes.
Dull
To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish.
Dull
To deprive of liveliness or activity; to render heavy; to make inert; to depress; to weary; to sadden.
Attention of mind . . . wasted or dulled through continuance.
Dull
To become dull or stupid.
Dull
Make dull in appearance;
Age had dulled the surface
Dull
Become dull or lusterless in appearance; lose shine or brightness;
The varnished table top dulled with time
Dull
Deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping
Dull
Make numb or insensitive;
The shock numbed her senses
Dull
Make dull or blunt;
Too much cutting dulls the knife's edge
Dull
Become less interesting or attractive
Dull
Make less lively or vigorous;
Middle age dulled her appetite for travel
Dull
Lacking in liveliness or animation;
He was so dull at parties
A dull political campaign
A large dull impassive man
Dull days with nothing to do
How dull and dreary the world is
Fell back into one of her dull moods
Dull
Emitting or reflecting very little light;
A dull glow
Dull silver badly in need of a polish
A dull sky
Dull
Being or made softer or less loud or clear;
The dull boom of distant breaking waves
Muffled drums
The muffled noises of the street
Muted trumpets
Dull
So lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness;
A boring evening with uninteresting people
The deadening effect of some routine tasks
A dull play
His competent but dull performance
A ho-hum speaker who couldn't capture their attention
What an irksome task the writing of long letters is
Tedious days on the train
The tiresome chirping of a cricket
Other people's dreams are dreadfully wearisome
Dull
(of color) very low in saturation; highly diluted;
Dull greens and blues
Dull
Not keenly felt;
A dull throbbing
Dull pain
Dull
Slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity;
So dense he never understands anything I say to him
Never met anyone quite so dim
Although dull at classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly quick
Dumb officials make some really dumb decisions
He was either normally stupid or being deliberately obtuse
Worked with the slow students
Dull
(of business) not active or brisk;
Business is dull (or slow)
A sluggish market
Dull
Not having a sharp edge or point;
The knife was too dull to be of any use
Dull
Blunted in responsiveness or sensibility;
A dull gaze
So exhausted she was dull to what went on about her
Dull
Not clear and resonant; sounding as if striking with or against something relatively soft;
The dull thud
Thudding bullets
Dull
Darkened with overcast;
A dark day
A dull sky
A gray rainy afternoon
Gray clouds
The sky was leaden and thick
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