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What is the difference between dull and slow?

dull | slow | Synonyms |

Slow is a synonym of dull.

Slow is a antonym of dull.



In transitive terms the difference between dull and slow

is that dull is to soften, moderate or blunt; to make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy while slow is to keep from going quickly; to hinder the progress of.

In intransitive terms the difference between dull and slow

is that dull is to lose a sharp edge; to become dull while slow is to become slow; to slacken in speed; to decelerate.

As a noun slow is

someone who is slow; a sluggard.

As an adverb slow is

slowly.

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

    slow

    English

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Taking a long time to move or go a short distance, or to perform an action; not quick in motion; proceeding at a low speed.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The attack of the MOOCs , passage=Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip. Since the launch early last year of Udacity and Coursera, two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations.}}
  • Not happening in a short time; spread over a comparatively long time.
  • * (John Milton)
  • These changes in the heavens, though slow , produced / Like change on sea and land, sidereal blast.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Charles T. Ambrose
  • , title= Alzheimer’s Disease , volume=101, issue=3, page=200, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.}}
  • Of reduced intellectual capacity; not quick to comprehend.
  • Not hasty; not precipitate; lacking in promptness; acting with deliberation.
  • * The Bible, Prov. xiv. 29
  • He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding.
  • (of a clock or the like) Behind]] in time; indicating a time [[early, earlier than the true time.
  • Lacking spirit; deficient in liveliness or briskness.
  • (of a period of time) Not busy; lacking activity.
  • Synonyms

    * See also * (taking a long time to move a short distance) deliberate; moderate * (not happening in a short time) gradual * (of reduced intellectual capacity) dull-witted * (acting with deliberation) dilatory, inactive, tardy, slothful, sluggish * (lacking spirit) boring, dull

    Antonyms

    * (taking a long time to move a short distance) fast, quick, rapid, swift * (of reduced intellectual capacity) prompt, quick * (acting with deliberation) hasty, precipitate, prompt * (lacking spirit) brisk, lively

    Derived terms

    * slow motion, slo-mo * slow-belly * slow burn * slowish * slowly * slow march * slowness * slowpoke

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make (something) run, move, etc. less quickly; to reduce the speed of.
  • To keep from going quickly; to hinder the progress of.
  • To become slow; to slacken in speed; to decelerate.
  • * '>citation
  • After about a minute, the creek bed vomited the debris into a gently sloped meadow. Saugstad felt the snow slow and tried to keep her hands in front of her.

    Synonyms

    * (keep from going quickly) delay, hinder, retard * (become slow) decelerate, slacken

    Derived terms

    * slower * slow up * slow down

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Someone who is slow; a sluggard.
  • (music) A slow song.
  • Adverb

    (er)
  • Slowly.
  • That clock is running slow .
  • * Shakespeare
  • Let him have time to mark how slow time goes / In time of sorrow.