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DULL
Definition of DULL
adjective
Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Middle English dull, dul (also dyll, dill, dwal), from Old English dol (“dull, foolish, erring, heretical; foolish, silly; presumptuous”), from Proto-West Germanic *dol, from Proto-Germanic *dulaz, from earlier *dwulaz, a variant of *dwalaz (“stunned, mad, foolish, misled”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwel-, *dʰewel- (“to dim, dull, cloud, make obscure, swirl, whirl”). Cognate with Scots dull, doll (“slow to understand or hear, deaf, dull”), North Frisian dol (“rash, unthinking, giddy, flippant”), Dutch dol (“crazy, mad, insane”), Low German dul, dol (“mad, silly, stupid, fatuous”), German toll (“crazy, mad, wild, fantastic”), Danish dval (“foolish, absurd”), Icelandic dulur (“secretive, silent”), West-Flemish dul (angry, furious).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
4 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
3rd
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
9%
of traced words share this origin (2,616)
How it is built
Same root, DULL · 2 relatives in the game
Its etymology also names Danish, Dutch, Icelandic, Scots.
Every Proto-Indo-European word → · The Word DNA of OUTLIER →
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
DULL in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 3 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 131, 28 September 2026. The most recent board was Day 146, 13 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 1 day.
First found by a player on Day 131, 28 September 2026.
Built from these letters
DULL starts with D and ends with L. Sorted, its letters read DLLU - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. L appears more than once, including a double letter.
Words that start DULL
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found DULL?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 131 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER