bor·ing
(bôŕĭng, bōŕ-)
adjective
- Uninteresting and tiresome; dull.
derivatives
- boŕing·ly
- adverb
- boŕing·ness
- noun
synonyms:
boring, monotonous, tedious, irksome, tiresome, humdrum These adjectives refer to what is so uninteresting as to cause mental weariness. Boring implies feelings of listlessness and discontent: I had never read such a boring book. What is monotonous bores because of lack of variety: “There is nothing so desperately monotonous as the sea” (James Russell Lowell) Tedious suggests dull slowness or long-windedness: Traveling by plane avoids spending tedious days on the train. Irksome describes what is demanding of time and effort and yet is dull and often unrewarding: “I know and feel what an irksome task the writing of long letters is” (Edmund Burke) Something tiresome fatigues because it seems to be interminable or to be marked by unremitting sameness: “What a tiresome being is a man who is fond of talking” (Benjamin Jowett) Humdrum refers to what is commonplace, trivial, or unexcitingly routine: My quiet cousin led a humdrum existence.
bore
1 (bôr, bōr)
[Middle English boren, from Old English borian.]
verb: bored, bor·ing, bores.
transitive verb
- To make a hole in or through, with or as if with a drill.
- To form (a tunnel, for example) by drilling, digging, or burrowing.
intransitive verb
- To make a hole in or through something with or as if with a drill: “three types of protein that enable the cells to bore in and out of blood vessels” (Elisabeth Rosenthal)
- To proceed or advance steadily or laboriously: a destroyer boring through heavy seas.
noun
- A hole or passage made by or as if by use of a drill.
- A hollow, usually cylindrical chamber or barrel, as of a firearm.
- The interior diameter of a hole, tube, or cylinder.
- The caliber of a firearm.
- A drilling tool.
bore
2 (bôr, bōr)
[Origin unknown.]
transitive verb: bored, bor·ing, bores.
- To make weary by being dull, repetitive, or tedious: The movie bored us.
noun
- One that is wearingly dull, repetitive, or tedious.
