boring

boring — adjective

1. not fun to watch, hear, read, or do because it does not keep your attention.

1.adjectiveA1
Definition

not fun to watch, hear, read, or do because it does not keep your attention.

Example

The science show was boring, so several children looked out the window.

pattern: be boring

Priya turned off the boring podcast after ten minutes in the kitchen.

pattern: boring + noun

Common collocations
  • boring class
  • boring job
  • boring speech
  • boring story
  • boring movie
Synonyms
  • dull

    common and close in meaning, often suggesting low energy as well

  • tedious

    stronger and often used for long tasks that repeat the same thing

  • uninteresting

    more neutral and factual, with less emotional force

Antonyms
  • interesting

    holding your attention

  • exciting

    more lively and emotionally strong than 'interesting'

  • fun

    everyday word for something enjoyable

Grammar Patterns

be boring

find something boring

boring + noun

Usage Note

Common after linking verbs such as 'be', 'feel', and 'seem', and also before nouns like book, job, class, and speech.

Common Mistakes

I am boring in math class.
I am bored in math class.
'boring' describes the thing that causes the feeling; 'bored' describes the person who feels it.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Boring is the everyday word for something that does not keep your attention. Dull is close, but it can also suggest low energy, weak color, or little imagination. Tedious is stronger and is often used for jobs or activities that feel slow because the same thing happens again and again. Uninteresting is more neutral and simply says that something does not attract interest. A lesson can be boring, a speaker can sound dull, and copying numbers for an hour can feel tedious. If you want the safest general word, use uninteresting; if you want the most natural everyday word, use boring.

dull ↗tedious ↗uninteresting ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • boring class
  • boring book
  • boring job
  • boring speech

Adverbs

  • really boring
  • so boring
  • extremely boring

Phrases

  • find something boring
  • get boring after a while

Etymology

English

Boring comes from the English verb bore in the sense 'make someone lose interest or feel tired of something'. The adjective uses the -ing form for the thing that causes that feeling.