---
title: dullness — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «dullness» in the school dictionary: Dullness is the state of being dull: not bright, not lively, not interesting. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# dullness

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**Who acts:** Dullness, peacock, Nobody · **What happens:** be, make, mock, enjoy · **To what, where:** state, picnic, dullness

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«dullness» in the school dictionary: its meaning for a pupil and its 3 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [dullness in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/dullness.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dullness is the state of being dull: not bright, not lively, not interesting.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dullness:m1:1
# text = Dullness is the state of being dull: not bright, not lively, not interesting.
1	Dullness	dullness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	state	state	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	7	cop	_	_
7	dull	dull	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
9	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
10	bright	bright	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
12	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	13	advmod	_	_
13	lively	lively	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
15	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	16	advmod	_	_
16	interesting	interesting	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Dullness | the state |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | dull *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The dullness of the grey sky made the picnic sad.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dullness:x1:1
# text = The dullness of the grey sky made the picnic sad.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	dullness	dullness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	grey	grey	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	sky	sky	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
7	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	picnic	picnic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	sad	sad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | the dullness of the grey sky | the picnic |  |  |  | sad *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset picnic=Product |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The peacock mocked the dullness of the crane's feathers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dullness:x2:1
# text = The peacock mocked the dullness of the crane's feathers.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	peacock	peacock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	mocked	mock	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	dullness	dullness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	crane	crane	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	feathers	feather	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mock** | past | the peacock | the dullness of the crane's feathers |  |  |  |  | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent dullness=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nobody enjoyed the dullness of the long wet afternoon.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dullness:x3:1
# text = Nobody enjoyed the dullness of the long wet afternoon.
1	Nobody	nobody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	2	nsubj	_	_
2	enjoyed	enjoy	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	dullness	dullness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
7	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
8	wet	wet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	afternoon	afternoon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **enjoy** | past | Nobody | the dullness of the long wet afternoon |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer dullness=Stimulus |

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**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

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