boring
adjEtymology Inherited from Middle English boryng (“making a hole”). By surface analysis, bore + -ing.
1
Causing boredom or tiredness; making one feel tired and impatient.
- What a boring film that was! I almost fell asleep.
- “Why don’t you become a Baptist preacher?” she interrupted wearily. He smiled at her briefly. Then, from the way he leaned back, adjusted his glasses, took a quick sip of martini, Ida knew she was in for a speech. Biting hard on her back teeth, she sighed and prepared to listen as little as possible. Suffocating, she mumbled, that’s what he is! And boringer than hell!1956 September, Laura Beheler, chapter 16, in The Paper Dolls, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Company; Cambridge, Mass.: The Riverside Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 175:
3 more examples
- Oh, let's not spoil a good dinner with a reconcilation^([sic]) scene. We’ve hardly split up. We’ll get to be like two old people who can communicate, and nothing’s boringer than that.1983, Peter De Vries, chapter 13, in Slouching Towards Kalamazoo, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 212:
- “I had the most boring day in life yesterday. I couldn’t go to work with my dad, so I went with my mom.” […] “Mine was even boringer than yours,” Kitty said. She was starting to whine, and she flipped her ponytail. She did both of those things a lot. “I didn’t get to spend that much time with my dad, either, since he’s a pilot.”2004, Nancy Rue, “Sophie and the Scoundrels (Book 3)”, in Sophie’s Secret (Faithgirlz!; The Sophie Series, 2), Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zonderkidz, →ISBN, pages 125–126:
- "We've had some moments in the spotlight, and there will be more to come. But boring is good when operating railways.2023 February 8, Paul Stephen with Howard Smith, “Elizabeth Line: "It's not job done yet"”, in RAIL, number 976, page 35:
2
Manglish Suffering from boredom; mildly annoyed and restless through having nothing to do.
- I very boring.
3
Used, designed to be used, or able to drill holes.
- boring equipment
- boring snails
4
Capable of penetrating; piercing.
- [H]is remarkably blue eyes had the trick of boring concentration.1963, Arthur Upfield, The Lake Frome Monster, London: Pan Books, published 1969, page 11:
- Synonyms
49 terms
dull, mind-numbing, tedious, banal, basic, beat, blah, commonplace, bland, boring, cold, colourless, corny, drab, stuffy, dreich, drowsy, dull as dishwater, flat, heavy going, ho-hum, humdrum, insipid, lackluster, lame, languid, lifeless, longsome, monotonous, mundane, no fun at parties, plain, plodding, prosaic, prosy, pedantic, pedestrian, static, straightforward, snoozeworthy, soporific, uncool, wan, weaksauce, wooden, uninteresting, stodgy, vapid, vanilla- Antonyms
- arousing, captivating, charming, engaging, enchanting, fascinating, entertaining, exciting, interesting
- Derived terms
- boring as beans, Boring Billion, boringly, boringness, nonboring, unboring, wood-boring
- Hyponyms
- wearisome