a. [ Compar. Duller superl. Dullest. ] [ AS. dol foolish; akin to gedwelan to err, D. dol mad, dwalen to wander, err, G. toll mad, Goth. dwals foolish, stupid, cf. Gr. &unr_; turbid, troubled, Skr. dhvr to cause to fall. Cf. Dolt, Dwale, Dwell, Fraud. ] 1. Slow of understanding; wanting readiness of apprehension; stupid; doltish; blockish. “Dull at classical learning.” Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

She is not bred so dull but she can learn. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Slow in action; sluggish; unready; awkward. [ 1913 Webster ]

This people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing. Matt. xiii. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

O, help my weak wit and sharpen my dull tongue. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Insensible; unfeeling. [ 1913 Webster ]

Think me not
So dull a devil to forget the loss
Of such a matchless wife. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Not keen in edge or point; lacking sharpness; blunt. “Thy scythe is dull.” Herbert. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Heavy; gross; cloggy; insensible; spiritless; lifeless; inert. “The dull earth.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

As turning the logs will make a dull fire burn, so changes of study a dull brain. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Along life's dullest, dreariest walk. Keble.

Syn. -- Lifeless; inanimate; dead; stupid; doltish; heavy; sluggish; sleepy; drowsy; gross; cheerless; tedious; irksome; dismal; dreary; clouded; tarnished; obtuse. See Lifeless. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Duller p. pr. & vb. n. Dulling. ] 1. To deprive of sharpness of edge or point. “This . . . dulled their swords.” Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy, as the senses, the feelings, the perceptions, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

Those [ drugs ] she has
Will stupefy and dull the sense a while. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Use and custom have so dulled our eyes. Trench. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish. “Dulls the mirror.” Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To deprive of liveliness or activity; to render heavy; to make inert; to depress; to weary; to sadden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Attention of mind . . . wasted or dulled through continuance. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To become dull or stupid. Rom. of R. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Dull + -ard. ] A stupid person; a dunce. Shak. -- a. Stupid. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Stupid; doltish. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having a gloomy look. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, dulls. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having eyes wanting brightness, liveliness, or vivacity. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A blockhead; a dolt. Ascham. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Somewhat dull; uninteresting; tiresome. “A series of dullish verses.” Prof. Wilson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being dull; slowness; stupidity; heaviness; drowsiness; bluntness; obtuseness; dimness; want of luster; want of vividness, or of brightness. [ Written also dulness. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

And gentle dullness ever loves a joke. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having poor eyesight. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Dull. [ R. ] Gataker. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Stupid. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a dull manner; stupidly; slowly; sluggishly; without life or spirit. [ 1913 Webster ]

Supinely calm and dully innocent. G. Lyttelton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ] 1. Marrow; pith; hence, essence. [ Obs. ] Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Anat.) The marrow of bones; the deep or inner portion of an organ or part; as, the medulla, or medullary substance, of the kidney; specifically, the medula oblongata. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Bot.) A soft tissue, occupying the center of the stem or branch of a plant; pith. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. See medulla oblongata. [ PJC ]

Medulla oblongata. [ L., oblong medulla ] (Anat.), the posterior part of the brain connected with the spinal cord. It includes all the hindbrain except the cerebellum and pons, and from it a large part of the cranial nerves arise. It controls very largely respiration, circulation, swallowing, and other functions, and is the most vital part of the brain; -- called also bulb of the spinal cord. See Brain. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. See Medullary. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. medullaris, fr. medulla marrow: cf. F. médullaire. ] 1. (Anat.) (a) Pertaining to, consisting of, or resembling, marrow or medulla. (b) Pertaining to the medula oblongata. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) Filled with spongy pith; pithy. [ 1913 Webster ]

Medullary groove (Anat.), a groove, in the epiblast of the vertebrate blastoderm, the edges of which unite, making a tube (the medullary canal) from which the brain and spinal cord are developed. --
Medullary rays (Bot.), the rays of cellular tissue seen in a transverse section of exogenous wood, which pass from the pith to the bark. --
Medullary sheath (Anat.), the layer of white semifluid substance (myelin), between the primitive sheath and axis cylinder of a medullated nerve fiber. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) Furnished with a medulla or marrow, or with a medullary sheath; as, a medullated nerve fiber. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. médulline. ] (Bot. Chem.) A variety of lignin or cellulose found in the medulla, or pith, of certain plants. Cf. Lignin, and Cellulose. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Not medullated; Specifically: (Anat.) without a medulla or marrow, or without a medullary sheath; as, a nonmedullated nerve fiber. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ 1st pref. un- + dull. ] To remove the dullness of; to clear. [ Obs. ] Whitlock. [ 1913 Webster ]