DULLS Synonyms: 100 Similar and Opposite Words

dulls

verb

present tense third-person singular of dull

as in reduces

to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling the aspirin dulled his headache and he was soon feeling better

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as in fades

to make white or lighter by removing color the painting's once-vivid colors have been dulled by time

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of dulls Key Takeaways Airborne hydrogen sulfide dulls silver, so many pieces need regular cleaning. — Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 29 Sep. 2026 Oversaturating floors can result in mold or mildew growth, lifting, warping, or swelling, while the soap can also leave behind a residue that dulls the finish, creating a cloudy or streaky appearance. — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Sep. 2026 But Aroonpheng’s worldbuilding is arcane to a fault, with no thanks to a weirdly flat rhythm that dulls the excitement of the film’s many narrative swerves. — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026 Over time, these harsh or oily formulas leave behind residue that dulls the shine and attracts dirt, making your floors look cloudy instead of clean. — Martha Stewart, 8 Aug. 2026 Perhaps the palm-tree mural emphasizes the open windowlessness of the subterranean, or the flat color dulls exertion. — Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026 Your taste buds change at altitude Cabin pressure dulls your ability to taste salt by up to 30%, which is why airline food can taste bland and, well, terrible. — Cindy Dees, PEOPLE, 23 July 2026 The 22-year-old was long considered ill-suited for grass, given how the surface dulls the athletic foundation of her game and rushes her forehand. — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 9 July 2026 In those conditions, the same technology that dulls passive learning can dramatically expand human creativity. — Vicki Phillips, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dulls

Verb

Automating classification while reserving human review for high-risk cases strengthens governance, improves compliance and reduces the risk of sensitive data exposure.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Northrop Grumman slashes overall weight and reduces total part counts, manufacturing combat-ready autonomous jets at a fraction of typical costs.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of reduces

Verb

Community organizations spent decades cultivating wealthy baby boomer donors, and so that connection fades with each generation removed from the original donors.

— Sydney Lake, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2026
Its manganese spins continue fluctuating in preferred directions after long-range magnetic order fades.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of fades

Verb

Martin uses a color extractor to remove existing dye, then bleaches the hair (except the gray roots) to get it as light as possible.

— Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 25 Sep. 2026
His owner, Hannah Gleason from Oklahoma, told Newsweek that the merle gene isn’t a coloring gene rather than a gene that bleaches the fur and causes lack of pigmentation which can lead to birth defects, blindness, deafness, or sometimes all three.

— Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025

Definition of bleaches

Verb

At this, Newsom brightens, mentioning a framed photograph at home, a black-and-white image of Kennedy kneeling in front of a young boy next to an old beat-up car.

— Joe Hagan, Vanity Fair, 30 Sep. 2026
Hydrogen peroxide brightens whites and removes stains without damaging fabric like bleach.

— Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of brightens

Verb

By effectively raising the threshold in the playoffs, the NFL acknowledges that over-officiating diminishes the product and that marginal penalties should not decide its most important games.

— Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Subtracting LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges somewhat diminishes the overall talent, but Charlotte wanted Miller and Knueppel to usher them into the next era.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of diminishes

Verb

Narrowing the spread also weakens the incentive to steer patients toward costlier drugs and to acquire physician practices and infusion clinics — the very behaviors that have made care more expensive.

— Casey B. Mulligan, STAT, 8 Oct. 2026
Research shows that people who share their goals publicly are less likely to achieve them, since talking about them creates a premature sense of accomplishment and weakens the drive to do the work.

— Ben Meer, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of weakens

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dullness

dulls

dullsville

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“Dulls.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dulls. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of dulls

verb

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