Standard Lemma guide

humdrum

adj · noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈhʌmdɹʌm/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: HH AH1 M D R AH2 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: banal, basic, beat, blah, commonplace, bland, boring, cold, colourless, corny, drab, stuffy, dreich, drowsy, dull, dull as dishwater, flat, heavy going, ho-hum, humdrum, insipid, lackluster, lame, languid, lifeless, longsome, monotonous, mundane, no fun at parties, plain, plodding, prosaic, prosy, pedantic, pedestrian, static, straightforward, snoozeworthy, soporific, tedious, uncool, wan, weaksauce, wooden, uninteresting, stodgy, vapid, vanilla

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The quality of lacking variety or excitement.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dullness, monotony

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A stupid fellow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, dated

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

tediously repetitious or lacking in variety

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a humdrum existence; all work and no play
  • nothing is so monotonous as the sea

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: monotonous

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

not challenging; dull and lacking excitement

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • an unglamorous job greasing engines

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: commonplace, prosaic, unglamorous, unglamourous

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

the quality of wearisome constancy, routine, and lack of variety

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • 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

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: monotony, sameness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: unvariedness

History

Etymology

Sound-symbolic, possible reduplication of hum, 1550s.

Across languages

Translations

77 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: монотонен (monotonen) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Bulgarian: прозаичен (prozaičen) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Bulgarian: скучен (skučen) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Bulgarian: банален (banalen) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Bulgarian: блудкав (bludkav) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Bulgarian: еднообразен (ednoobrazen) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Catalan: avorrit — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Catalan: tediós — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Chinese Cantonese: 單調嘅 /单调嘅 (daan1 diu6 ge3) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Chinese Cantonese: 刻板嘅 (hak1 baan2 ge3) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Chinese Cantonese: 乏味嘅 (fat6 mei6 ge3) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Chinese Mandarin: 單調乏味的 /单调乏味的 (dāndiào fáwèi de) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Chinese Mandarin: 無聊的 /无聊的 (wúliáo de) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Czech: jednotvárný — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Czech: nudný — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Czech: fádní — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Dutch: saai — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Dutch: vervelend — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Dutch: eentonig — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Dutch: slaapverwekkend — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Finnish: yksitoikkoinen — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Finnish: tapahtumaköyhä — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • French: monotone — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • French: ennuyeux — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • French: embétant — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • French: soporifique — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • German: langweilig — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • German: monoton — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • German: eintönig — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • German: dröge — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • German: gleichförmig — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • German: trist — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • German: abgestumpft — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • German: einförmig — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Hebrew: שגרתי (shigratí) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Hebrew: משעמם (meshaamém) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Hungarian: unalmas — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Hungarian: egyhangú — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Hungarian: sivár — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Māori: mākihakiha — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Occitan: anugivol — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Occitan: anugiu — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Occitan: anujós — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Polish: monotonny — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Polish: nudny — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Polish: prozaiczny — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Russian: ску́чный (skúčnyj) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Russian: бана́льный (banálʹnyj) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Russian: бу́дничный (búdničnyj) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Russian: однообра́зный (odnoobráznyj) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Russian: прозаи́чный (prozaíčnyj) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Russian: моното́нный (monotónnyj) — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Spanish: aburrido — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Spanish: tedioso — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Spanish: soso — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Vietnamese: nhàm chán — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Vietnamese: buồn tẻ — lacking variety or excitement; dull; boring
  • Bulgarian: скучност (skučnost) — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • Bulgarian: монотонност (monotonnost) — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • Chinese Mandarin: 單調乏味 /单调乏味 (dāndiào fáwèi) — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • Chinese Mandarin: 沉悶 /沉闷 (chénmèn) — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • Finnish: yksitoikkoisuus — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • French: traintrain — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • German: Monotonie — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • German: Einerlei — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • German: Tristesse — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • Occitan: monotonia — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • Occitan: anujament — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • Occitan: anujança — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • Polish: monotonność — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • Polish: nuda — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • Polish: prozaiczność — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • Russian: повседне́вность (povsednévnostʹ) — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • Russian: однообра́зие (odnoobrázije) — quality of lacking variety or excitement; dullness
  • Chinese Mandarin: 蠢材 (chǔncái) — stupid fellow
  • Chinese Mandarin: 笨蛋 (bèndàn) — stupid fellow
  • Finnish: typerys — stupid fellow