What is the difference between dull and sharp?

Sharp is a antonym of dull.

As adjectives the difference between dull and sharp

is that dull is lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp while sharp is able to cut easily.

As verbs the difference between dull and sharp

is that dull is to render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp while sharp is to raise the pitch of a note half a step making a natural note a sharp.

As an adverb sharp is

to a point or edge; piercingly; eagerly; sharply.

As a noun sharp is

the symbol ♯, placed after the name of a note in the key signature or before a note on the staff to indicate that the note is to be played a semitone higher.

As a proper noun Sharp is

{{surname}.

dull

English

Alternative forms

* dul, dulle

Adjective

(er)

Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp.

Boring; not exciting or interesting.

Not shiny; having a matte finish or no particular luster or brightness.

:a dull''' fire or lamp; a '''dull''' red or yellow; mirror

*(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) (1807-1882)

*:As turning the logs will make a dull fire burn, so changes of study a dull brain.

*

*:A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; as, again, the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull , small fire. In fact, that arm-chair had been an extravagance of Mrs. Bunting. She had wanted her husband to be comfortable after the day's work was done, and she had paid thirty-seven shillings for the chair.

Not bright or intelligent; stupid; slow of understanding.

*(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)

*:She is not bred so dull but she can learn.

*(William Makepeace Thackeray) (1811-1863)

*:dull at classical learning

*{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=15 citation , passage=She paused and took a defiant breath. ‘If you don't believe me, I can't help it. But I'm not a liar.’ ¶ ‘No,’ said Luke, grinning at her. ‘You're not dull enough! […] What about the kid's clothes? I don't suppose they were anything to write home about, but didn't you keep anything? A bootee or a bit of embroidery or anything at all?’}}
Sluggish, listless.

*(Bible), (w) xiii. 15

*:This people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing.

*(Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)

*:O, help my weak wit and sharpen my dull tongue.

*, chapter=7
, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=[…] St.?Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.}}
Cloudy, overcast.

:

Insensible; unfeeling.

*(Beaumont and Fletcher) (1603-1625)

*:Think me not / So dull a devil to forget the loss / Of such a matchless wife.

Heavy; lifeless; inert.

*(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)

*:the dull earth

*(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) (1807-1882)

*:As turning the logs will make a dull fire burn, so changes of study a dull brain.

(of pain etc) Not intense; felt indistinctly or only slightly.

Pressing on the bruise produces a dull pain.

Synonyms

* See also * See also * (not shiny) lackluster, matte

Antonyms

* bright * intelligent * sharp

Verb

(en verb)
To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp.

Years of misuse have dulled the tools.

* Francis Bacon

This dulled their swords.

To soften, moderate or blunt; to make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy.

He drinks to dull the pain.

* Shakespeare

Those [drugs] she has / Will stupefy and dull the sense a while.

* Trench

Use and custom have so dulled our eyes.

To lose a sharp edge; to become dull.

A razor will dull with use.

To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish.

* Francis Bacon

dulls the mirror

External links

* *

sharp
English

Adjective
(er)
Able to cut easily.

:

*

*:Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.

(lb) Intelligent.

:

* {{quote-news, author=(Jesse Jackson), title=In the Ferguson era, Malcolm X’s courage in fighting racism inspires more than ever, work=(The Guardian) (London), date=20 February 2015 citation
, passage=At school, despite his sharp mind, Malcolm was laughed at by teachers when he said he wanted to be a lawyer. }}
Terminating in a point or edge; not obtuse or rounded.

:

:

(lb) Higher than usual by one semitone (denoted by the symbol after the name of the note).

(lb) Higher in pitch than required.

:

Having an intense, acrid flavour.''

:

Sudden and intense.

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*

*:She wakened in sharp panic, bewildered by the grotesquerie of some half-remembered dream in contrast with the harshness of inclement fact.

(lb) Illegal or dishonest.

:

(lb) Keenly or unduly attentive to one's own interests; shrewd.

:

*(Jonathan Swift) (1667–1745)

*:the necessity of being so sharp and exacting

Exact, precise, accurate; keen.

:

*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Catherine Clabby
, magazine=(American Scientist), title= Focus on Everything , passage=Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus.
Offensive, critical, or acrimonious.

:

(lb) Stylish or attractive.

:

Observant; alert; acute.

:

Forming a small angle; forming an angle of less than ninety degrees.

:

*1900 , , (The House Behind the Cedars) , Chapter I,

*:The street down which Warwick had come intersected Front Street at a sharp angle in front of the old hotel, forming a sort of flatiron block at the junction, known as Liberty Point

Steep; precipitous; abrupt.

:

Said of as extreme a value as possible.

:

(lb) Tactical; risky.

*1963 , Max Euwe, Chess Master Vs. Chess Amateur (page xviii)

*:Time and time again, the amateur player has lost the opportunity to make the really best move because he felt bound to follow some chess "rule" he had learned, rather than to make the sharp move which was indicated by the position.

*1975 , Lud?k Pachman, Decisive Games in Chess History (page 64)

*:In such situations most chess players choose the ohvious and logical way: they go in for sharp play. However, not everyone is a natural attacking player

Piercing; keen; severe; painful.

:

*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)

*:Sharp misery had worn him to the bones.

*(William Cowper) (1731-1800)

*:the morning sharp and clear

*(John Keble) (1792-1866)

*:in sharpest perils faithful proved

Eager or keen in pursuit; impatient for gratification.

:

(lb) Fierce; ardent; fiery; violent; impetuous.

*(John Milton) (1608-1674)

*:in sharp contest of battle

*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)

*:A sharp assault already is begun.

Composed of hard, angular grains; gritty.

:

:(Edward Moxon)

Uttered in a whisper, or with the breath alone; aspirated; unvoiced.

Synonyms
* (able to cut easily) keen, razor, razor-sharp * (intelligent) brainy, bright, intelligent, keen, smart, witty * (able to pierce easily) pointed * (having an intense and acrid flavour) acrid, pungent * (sudden and intense) abrupt, acute, stabbing * dishonest, dodgy, illegal, illicit, underhand * (accurate) accurate, exact, keen, precise * (critical) acrimonious, bitter, cutting, harsh, hostile, nasty * chic, elegant, smart, stylish * (observant) acute, alert, keen, observant, sharp-eyed
Antonyms
* (able to cut easily) blunt, dull * (intelligent) dim, dim-witted, slow, slow-witted, thick * (able to pierce easily) blunt * (higher than usual by one semitone) flat * flat * (having an intense and acrid flavour) bland, insipid, tasteless * (sudden and intense) dull * above-board, honest, legit, legitimate, reputable * (accurate) inaccurate, imprecise * (critical) complimentary, flattering, friendly, kind, nice * inelegant, scruffy, shabby * (observant) unobservant
Derived terms
* not the sharpest knife in the drawer * sharpish * sharply * sharp-witted
Adverb
(er)
To a point or edge; piercingly; eagerly; sharply.

* Shakespeare

You bite so sharp at reasons.

(notcomp) Exactly.

I'll see you at twelve o'clock sharp .

(music) In a higher pitch than is correct or desirable.

I didn't enjoy the concert much because the tenor kept going sharp on the high notes.

Synonyms
* (exactly) exactly, on the dot (of time), precisely
Noun
(en noun)
(music) The symbol ?, placed after the name of a note in the key signature or before a note on the staff to indicate that the note is to be played a semitone higher.

The pitch pipe sounded out a perfect F? (F sharp).

''Transposition frequently is harder to read because of all the sharps and flats on the staff.

(music) A note that is played a semitone higher than usual; denoted by the name of the note that is followed by the symbol ?.

(music) A note that is sharp in a particular key.

The piece was difficult to read after it had been transposed, since in the new key many notes were sharps .

(music) The scale having a particular sharp note as its tonic.

Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" is written in C? minor (C sharp minor.)

(usually, in the plural) Something that is sharp.

Place sharps in the specially marked red container for safe disposal.

A sharp tool or weapon.

* Collier

If butchers had but the manners to go to sharps , gentlemen would be contented with a rubber at cuffs.

(medicine) A hypodermic syringe.

(medicine, dated) A scalpel or other edged instrument used in surgery.

A dishonest person; a cheater.

The casino kept in the break room a set of pictures of known sharps for the bouncers to see.

Part of a stream where the water runs very rapidly.

(Charles Kingsley)

A sewing needle with a very slender point, more pointed than a blunt or a between.

(in the plural) middlings

(slang, dated) An expert.

A sharpie (member of Australian gangs of the 1960s and 1970s).

* 2006 , Iain McIntyre, Tomorrow Is Today: Australia in the Psychedelic Era, 1966-1970

The Circle was one of the few dances the older sharps frequented; mostly they were to be found in pubs, pool-halls or at the track.

Derived terms
* card sharp * double sharp
See also
* (music) accidental, flat, natural *
Verb
(en verb)
(music) To raise the pitch of a note half a step making a natural note a sharp.

That new musician must be tone deaf: he sharped half the notes of the song!

To play tricks in bargaining; to act the sharper.

(rfquotek, L'Estrange)

Anagrams
* harps 1000 English basic words