I. ˈled ə n adjective
Etymology: Middle English leden, from Old English lēaden, from lēad lead + -en
1.
a. : made of lead
a leaden box
b.
(1) : of the color lead
(2) : of the color lead gray
(3) : dull gray : dun
a leaden sky
of a dull leaden paleness — Anthony Trollope
2.
a. : lacking value or quality : poor , mean
his golden tact and leaden taste — H.M.Reichard
b.
(1) : oppressively heavy
all their equipment had become leaden — Norman Mailer
his body seemed a trifle less leaden — John Buchan
: oppressive
a leaden silence fell — Jean Stafford
(2) : dragging , sluggish
had a lot of power and a lot of leaden feet — Ty Cobb
c.
(1) : dull , expressionless , inert
the heavy leaden eyes turn on you — R.W.Emerson
its hero is a leaden bore — New Yorker
(2) : lacking spirit, animation, or sparkle : heavy-footed , flat
giving the music a leaden character — Arthur Berger
their ironies are leaden — Charles Lee
there's a rather leaden first act — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union
this version … is full of fine shots of India … but the picture itself is leaden — John McCarten
• lead·en·ly adverb
• lead·en·ness - ə n(n)ə̇s noun -es
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to make like lead
the dead palace floors had leadened his feet — William Sansom
a brain leadened with fear