Definitions for Dulness
dul·ness

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Dulnessnoun

   Etymology: from dull.

   1. Stupidity; weakness of intellect; indocility; slowness of apprehension.

   Nor is the dulness of the scholar to extinguish, but rather to inflame the charity of the teacher. Robert South, Sermons.

   Shadwel alone my perfect image bears,
   Mature in dulness from his tender years. Dryden.

   2. Want of quick perception.

   Nature, by a continual use of any thing, groweth to a satiety and dulness, either of appetite or working. Francis Bacon, Nat. Hist.

   3. Drowsiness; inclination to sleep.

   Here cease more questions;
   Thou art inclin’d to sleep. ’Tis a good dulness,
   And give it way. William Shakespeare, Tempest.

   4. Sluggishness of motion.5. Dimness; want of lustre.6. Bluntness; want of edge.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Dulness

   Dulness is the goddess who presides over Alexander Pope's The Dunciad. She is the central character, introduced at the start of the work.Dulness is the daughter of Chaos and "eternal Night", and her mission is to convert all the world to stupidity ("To hatch a new Saturnian age, of Lead"). Her triumph is part of the translatio stultitia (the inverse of the translatio studii). As "enlightenment" moves ever westward, darkness follows behind. In Pope's poem, she already has control of all political writing and seeks to extend her reign to drama. Hence, she chooses as a champion Lewis Theobald (Dunciad A) and Colley Cibber (Dunciad B). Pope presents the power of Dulness as inexorable and irresistible, and in Book IV of the Dunciad B he asks only that she pause a moment to let him write his poem before she takes "the singer and the song" into her oblivion. She is not motivated by any particular malice, and she even shows mercy at one point, if being reduced to insensibility is mercy, for, when a deflowered nun comes before her, she drops her cloak of shamelessness over the ruined woman. Instead, she has an essential antipathy toward learning and independent thinking, and, for Pope, loss of the ability to discern, to think, and to appreciate is a living death and the license of all evil. For Pope, who was a Roman Catholic, absolute monarchy, foreign language opera, flattery, the replacement of sound architecture for politically well placed hacks, the redesign of good (classically ordered) buildings, and the money grubbing of what would now be called the tabloid press are all signs of the triumph of Dulness over reason and light. Each of these things represents choosing the less thoughtful over the more rational choice, each requires credulity and acceptance over curiosity and independence, and therefore Pope blames, at least as much as any agent of Dulness, an indifferent and uneducated public.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Dulness

   Dulness is the goddess who presides over Alexander Pope's The Dunciad. She is the daughter of Nox and Chaos, and her mission is to convert all the world to stupidity. Her triumph is part of the translatio stultitia. As "enlightenment" moves ever westward, darkness follows behind. In Pope's poem, she already has control of all political writing and seeks to extend her reign to drama. Hence, she chooses as a champion Lewis Theobald and Colley Cibber. Pope presents her power as inexorable and irresistible, and in Book IV of the Dunciad B he asks only that she pause a moment to let him write his poem before she takes "the singer and the song" into her oblivion. She is not motivated by any particular malice, and she even shows mercy at one point, if being reduced to insensibility is mercy, for, when a deflowered nun comes before her, she drops her cloak of shamelessness over the ruined woman. Instead, she has an essential antipathy toward learning and independent thinking, and, for Pope, loss of the ability to discern, to think, and to appreciate is a living death and the license of all evil. For Pope, who was himself a Roman Catholic, the papacy's doctrine of infallibility, absolute monarchy, foreign language opera, flattery, the replacement of sound architecture for politically well placed hacks, the redesign of good buildings, the money grubbing of what would now be called tabloid press are all signs of the triumph of Dulness over reason and light. Each of these things represents choosing the less thoughtful over the more rational choice, each requires credulity and acceptance over curiosity and independence, and therefore Pope blames, at least as much as any agent of Dulness, an indifferent and uneducated public.

How to pronounce Dulness?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Dulness in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Dulness in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Dulness in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of Dulness in a Sentence

1. Hazlitt:

   A lively blockhead in company is a public benefit. Silence or dulness by the side of folly looks like wisdom.

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References

1. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=Dulness
2. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dulness
3. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=Dulness