INDEX:
1. jobs/books/films/activities etc
2. place
3. person
4. to make someone feel bored
5. bored
6. the feeling of being bored
7. to try to make a situation less boring
8. ways of saying that something becomes boring after a time
RELATED WORDS
someone who is boring and conventional : ↑ CONVENTIONAL/UNCONVENTIONAL
see also
↑ FED UP
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1. jobs/books/films/activities etc
▷ boring /ˈbɔːrɪŋ/ [adjective]
something that is boring is not interesting in any way and makes you feel tired and annoyed :
▪ I don’t want some boring job in an office!
▪ a long boring lecture on economic planning
▪ What a boring way to spend an evening!
▪ Most people who see a baseball game for the first time think it’s pretty boring.
▷ not very interesting /ˌnɒt veri ˈɪntrə̇stɪŋ/ [adjective phrase] especially spoken
very ordinary and not really interesting or enjoyable :
▪ Did you watch that TV show about Prince Charles? It wasn’t very interesting, was it?
▪ There was nothing very interesting in the local newspaper - just the usual stuff.
▷ dull /dʌl/ [adjective] especially written
boring because nothing different, interesting, or exciting happens :
▪ We spent a dull afternoon with some of Harold’s business associates.
▪ This kind of mindless work can become very dull very quickly.
▷ monotonous /məˈnɒt ə nəsǁməˈnɑː-/ [adjective]
something that is monotonous is boring because it always continues in the same way and it never changes :
▪ Life on the farm was slow and monotonous.
▪ The teacher’s low monotonous voice almost put me to sleep.
▷ tedious /ˈtiːdiəs/ [adjective]
something that is tedious is boring and tiring because it continues for too long :
▪ It was one of the most tedious plays I’ve ever had to sit through.
▪ Doing all those calculations without a computer would be extremely tedious.
▷ banal /bəˈnɑːl, bəˈnæl/ [adjective]
stories, books, remarks etc that are banal, are ordinary and uninteresting, especially because they do not contain anything new, exciting, or original :
▪ It was just another banal newspaper story.
▪ I was expecting an interesting interview but he only asked a few banal questions about the weather.
▷ mundane /mʌnˈdeɪn/ [adjective]
a job, event, or activity that is mundane is boring and ordinary and gives you very little pleasure, especially because you do it every day :
▪ The play is about the mundane existence of factory workers.
▪ My initial job was pretty mundane, but later I was given more responsibility.
▷ repetitive /rɪˈpetɪtɪv, rɪˈpetətɪv/ [adjective]
if something such as a job, speech, or a piece of writing or music is repetitive, it is boring because parts of it keep repeating again and again :
▪ As children we suffered through schoolwork that was dull and repetitive.
▪ He has some good ideas, but his lectures can get a little repetitive.
▷ uninspiring /ˌʌnɪnˈspaɪ ə rɪŋ◂/ [adjective]
something that is uninspiring has nothing exciting or new about it, and makes you feel bored :
▪ The restaurant’s dessert selection was somewhat uninspiring.
▪ Both candidates turned in uninspiring performances in last night’s debate.
▷ humdrum /ˈhʌmdrʌm/ [adjective]
humdrum existence/life/job
one in which nothing interesting or exciting ever happens and nothing changes :
▪ Occasional holidays abroad were the only things that brightened up her otherwise humdrum life.
▪ Going to night school might improve your chances of getting out of that humdrum job.
▷ soul-destroying /ˈsəʊl dɪˌstrɔɪ-ɪŋ/ [adjective] especially British
a job or an experience that is soul-destroying is extremely boring and makes you very unhappy because you feel that you are a useless person and your life has no meaning :
▪ They spend all day sticking paper labels on toy cars - it’s soul-destroying.
▪ Going to the unemployment office and having to wait there for hours is a soul-destroying experience.
▷ send you to sleep /ˌsend juː tə ˈsliːp/ [verb phrase] British informal /put you to sleep /ˌpʊt juː tə ˈsliːp/ American informal
if a speech, performance etc sends or puts you to sleep, it is extremely boring so you completely stop paying attention to it and want to sleep :
▪ All his talk about his financial problems just sends me to sleep.
▪ Isn’t there anything else to watch? This movie’s putting me to sleep.
2. place
▷ boring /ˈbɔːrɪŋ/ [adjective]
not at all interesting or exciting to live in :
▪ This is such a boring town - there’s nothing to do in the evenings.
▪ It’s so boring here. I wish we lived in L.A.
▷ dead /ded/ [adjective not before noun]
a town that is dead is boring because nothing interesting happens, and there is nothing interesting to do :
▪ In summer we get a few visitors, but most of the time this place is dead.
▪ It’s absolutely dead here when all the students go away for the summer vacation.
▷ nothing ever happens /ˌnʌθɪŋ evəʳ ˈhæpənz/ spoken
if you say nothing ever happens in a place, you mean nothing interesting or exciting happens there :
▪ Nothing ever happens around here. Why do you like it so much?
▷ dreary /ˈdrɪ ə ri/ [adjective]
a dreary place is one where there is nothing attractive or cheerful to see :
▪ I was living in a dreary apartment in a run-down part of town.
▪ Laurie gazed out over a dreary landscape of factories and parking lots.
▷ drab /dræb/ [adjective]
buildings and places that are drab are not colourful or interesting to look at :
▪ When I came to Manchester from Brazil everything seemed so drab and colourless.
▪ You enter the drab office building half-expecting it to be abandoned.
▷ featureless /ˈfiːtʃəʳləs/ [adjective]
featureless landscape/plain/coast etc
a large area of land that has no interesting or unusual features :
▪ It was flat, featureless coastline.
▪ In the middle of these otherwise featureless plains is a striking range of mountains.
3. person
▷ boring /ˈbɔːrɪŋ/ [adjective]
someone who is boring never says or does anything interesting :
▪ He’s so boring - all he ever talks about is football.
▪ The professor was so boring, hardly anyone came to class.
▪ Pam’s parents are nice, but they’re very boring.
▷ dull /dʌl/ [adjective]
someone who is dull is not unpleasant, but their life and their conversation is never interesting or exciting. :
▪ Our neighbours are OK, I suppose, but they’re so dull!
▪ I’m afraid I must seem very dull compared with all those interesting people you meet.
▷ bore /bɔːʳ/ [countable noun]
a boring person who talks too much about themselves and about the things that they are interested in :
▪ At parties she always gets stuck with some bore who wants to tell her the story of his life.
4. to make someone feel bored
▷ bore /bɔːʳ/ [transitive verb]
to make someone feel bored, especially by talking too much about something they are not interested in :
▪ Am I boring you?
bore somebody with something
bore someone by talking about a particular subject
▪ He bores everyone with his stories about his girlfriends.
bore somebody to death/tears
make someone very bored
▪ Being alone with a baby all day bored her to tears.
5. bored
▷ bored /bɔːʳd/ [adjective]
tired and annoyed, either because you are doing something that you are not interested in, or because you have nothing to do :
▪ Dad, can we go home now? I’m bored!
▪ The game isn’t great, but it might provide some amusement for bored teenagers.
get bored
▪ She seems to get bored very easily.
bored with
▪ Kelly gets a new job, and two weeks later he’s bored with it.
bored with doing something
▪ Julia soon got bored with lying on the beach.
bored to tears/bored to death/bored stiff
extremely bored informal
▪ There’s nothing to do here - I’m bored stiff!
▷ fed up /ˌfed ˈʌp/ especially spoken
bored and annoyed with something that has continued for too long :
▪ Her husband’s out working all the time, and she’s really fed up.
fed up with
▪ I’m fed up with health food - I’m going to have a hamburger.
fed up with doing something
▪ We were all fed up with listening to her complaints the whole time.
get fed up
▪ When you have to stay in and study every night you just get fed up with it.
▷ be tired of/be sick of /biː ˈtaɪəʳd ɒv, biː ˈsɪk ɒv/ [verb phrase] spoken
to feel very annoyed and bored with a situation that has continued for too long, or with a person who has done something for too long :
▪ We’re always arguing, and I’m just tired of it.
▪ I’m really sick of him - he’s always criticizing me.
be tired/sick of doing something
▪ People are tired of hearing politicians make promises that they never keep.
▪ Do it yourself - I’m sick of cleaning up after you!
get tired/sick of (doing) something
▪ I get tired of eating the same food day after day.
be sick and tired of (doing) something
▪ I’m sick and tired of your whining.
▷ have had enough /həv ˌhæd ɪˈnʌf/ [verb phrase] spoken
to be so bored with something that has continued for a long time that you decide to leave, do something different, or change the situation :
▪ After 10 years of teaching, Allan has had enough.
have had enough of (doing) something
▪ By January I’d had enough of shoveling snow and decided to take a trip to Mexico.
▷ somebody’s eyes glaze over / somebody’s ˌaɪz gleɪz ˈəʊvəʳ/
if someone’s eyes glaze over, they look as if they are going to fall asleep, because they are very bored, especially by what someone is telling them :
▪ I could see her eyes were glazing over, so I quickly suggested a break.
▪ When you start talking about important political issues, most people’s eyes glaze over.
6. the feeling of being bored
▷ boredom /ˈbɔːʳdəm/ [uncountable noun]
▪ Boredom is one of the main reasons kids get into trouble.
boredom of
▪ She could no longer stand the boredom of having nothing to do.
sheer boredom
complete boredom
▪ Can you imagine the sheer boredom of doing the same job day in, day out for fifty years?
out of boredom
because you are bored
▪ I sit around all day and eat junk food out of boredom.
▷ monotony /məˈnɒt ə niǁməˈnɑː-/ [uncountable noun]
the feeling of being bored because you do the same things all the time, see the same people etc, and never do anything different :
monotony of
▪ The monotony of prison life is enough to drive anyone insane.
sheer monotony
complete monotony
▪ The sheer monotony of the work is itself exhausting.
7. to try to make a situation less boring
▷ relieve the boredom/monotony /rɪˌliːv ðə ˈbɔːʳdəm, məˈnɒt ə niǁ-məˈnɑː-/ [verb phrase]
▪ Sometimes she would try out different routes to relieve the monotony of her daily journey.
▪ Harry tried to relieve the boredom by singing and whistling.
8. ways of saying that something becomes boring after a time
▷ the novelty wears off /ðə ˌnɒv ə lti weəʳz ˈɒfǁ-ˌnɑːv-/
if the novelty wears off,something that was new and interesting for a short time is no longer interesting :
▪ After the novelty wears off, the Internet can be a very dull place.
▪ Once the novelty has worn off, most of these kitchen gadgets just sit in the cupboard, unused for years.