humdrum

hum·drum

(hŭm′drŭm′)

adj.

Lacking variety or excitement. See Synonyms at dull.

Monotonous talk or routine.

[Probably from hum.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

humdrum

(ˈhʌmˌdrʌm)

adj

ordinary; dull

a monotonous routine, task, or person

[C16: rhyming compound, probably based on hum]

ˈhumˌdrumness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hum•drum

(ˈhʌmˌdrʌm)

adj.

1. lacking variety; boring; dull.

2. humdrum character or routine; monotony.

[1545–55; earlier humtrum, rhyming compound based on hum]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	humdrum - the quality of wearisome constancy, routine, and lack of variety; "he had never grown accustomed to the monotony of his work"; "he was sick of the humdrum of his fellow prisoners"; "he hated the sameness of the food the college served" monotony, sameness unvariedness - characterized by an absence of variation
Adj.	1.	humdrum - not challenging; dull and lacking excitement; "an unglamorous job greasing engines" unglamorous, unglamourous, commonplace, prosaic unexciting - not exciting; "an unexciting novel"; "lived an unexciting life"
	2.	humdrum - tediously repetitious or lacking in variety; "a humdrum existence; all work and no play"; "nothing is so monotonous as the sea" monotonous dull - lacking in liveliness or animation; "he was so dull at parties"; "a dull political campaign"; "a large dull impassive man"; "dull days with nothing to do"; "how dull and dreary the world is"; "fell back into one of her dull moods"

humdrum

adjective dull, ordinary, boring, routine, commonplace, mundane, tedious, dreary, banal, tiresome, monotonous, uneventful, uninteresting, mind-numbing, ho-hum (informal), repetitious, wearisome, unvaried trapped in a humdrum but well-paid job
interesting, exciting, dramatic, extraordinary, entertaining, stimulating, sexy (informal), lively

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

humdrum

adjective

Arousing no interest or curiosity:

boring, drear, dreary, dry, dull, irksome, monotonous, stuffy, tedious, tiresome, uninteresting, weariful, wearisome, weary.

noun

A tiresome lack of variety:

monotone, monotonousness, monotony, sameness.

Translations

رتيب، مُمِل

jednotvárný

kedsommelig

eintönig

monotone

egyhangúsivárunalmas

hversdagslegur, leiîinlegur

monotono

garlaicīgsvienmuļš

monotonnyprozaiczny

sıkıcı sıradan yavan

乏味的单调的

humdrum

[ˈhʌmdrʌm] ADJ → monótono, rutinario

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

humdrum

[ˈhʌmdrʌm] adj [existence, job] → monotone, routinier/ière

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

humdrum

adj → stumpfsinnig

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

humdrum

[ˈhʌmˌdrʌm] adj → monotono/a, banale

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

humdrum

(ˈhamdram) adjective

dull. a humdrum life.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

He did not know what a troubling effect they had upon Philip; they seemed to make his life very humdrum. With the spring Hayward grew dithyrambic.

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But he had found that humdrum world in a terribly dynamic condition, in which even badinage and lyrism had turned explosive; and the first day of this visit had become the most fatal epoch of his life.

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So here I shall end my days; and I must say, Dorothy, my dear, that you are very foolish to go back into that stupid, humdrum world again."

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As a result of this method Hannah, who could only have been developed by forces applied from without, was painstaking, humdrum, and limited; while Rebecca, who apparently needed nothing but space to develop in, and a knowledge of terms in which to express herself, grew and grew and grew, always from within outward.

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They were uneasy and a good deal excited, for this is a practical humdrum world, and it seemed to them quite impossible that their little niece could vanish from her home and travel instantly to fairyland.

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Perhaps it was too much temperament that made them turn from the commonplace and humdrum to find relief in the lying and fantastic sureties of John Barleycorn.

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I have not written to my beloved Amelia for these many weeks past, for what news was there to tell of the sayings and doings at Humdrum Hall, as I have christened it; and what do you care whether the turnip crop is good or bad; whether the fat pig weighed thirteen stone or fourteen; and whether the beasts thrive well upon mangelwurzel?

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Most boys have seasons of wishing they could die gloriously instead of just being grocery clerks and going on with their humdrum lives.

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Each claimed long experience in bush- fighting, most of them showed scars of bullet or spear-thrust in proof, and all were wild for a chance to break the humdrum monotony of plantation labour by going on a killing expedition.

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Poor Jo, these were dark days to her, for something like despair came over her when she thought of spending all her life in that quiet house, devoted to humdrum cares, a few small pleasures, and the duty that never seemed to grow any easier.

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Existence had settled down to the daily humdrum of the wild-- the search for food and the sleeping upon full bellies.

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By and by the "North American Quarterly Humdrum" will make them ashamed of their stupidity.

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