drab

Everyday

1. Dull and boring, with no bright colours or interest. tree →
2. Grey or brownish in colour. tree →
3. (of life or a place) Without fun or excitement. tree →

In the lessons

In stories, drab clothes, rooms or towns create a sad or boring mood; in science, some female birds are drab so they can hide on the nest; phrases: «drab and grey», «a drab little room», «drab colours».

Examples

• The classroom looked drab until we put up our paintings. tree →
• The female duck is drab brown, but the male is bright green. tree →
• She wore a drab grey coat. tree →
• The town looked drab in the winter rain. tree →
• Our new wallpaper turned a drab room into a happy one. tree →
• He wanted to escape his drab, boring life. tree →
• Drab feathers help birds hide from foxes. tree →
• She now came to a space of marshy ground in the wood, where large, fat water-snakes were rolling in the mire, and showing their ugly, drab-colored bodies. tree →

Note

Comparatives: drabber, drabbest (double b). Opposite: bright, colourful, cheerful. Noun: drabness.