drab

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /dræb/ UK /dræb/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
dull and lacking brightness or interest; of a dull brownish color

The office walls were painted a depressing, drab gray.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · dull and lacking brightness... dull dreary colorless dingy gloomy lackluster cheerless monotonous

Opposites

bright colorful vivid cheerful vibrant

Word family

Derived forms drabnessdrably

Simplified etymology

Drab, recorded from the mid-16th century, ultimately goes back to Latin drappus, meaning “cloth,” and originally denoted undyed cloth.

Etymology

From Middle French 'drap' ('cloth'), from Late Latin 'drappus' ('cloth'); originally a kind of dull undyed woolen cloth, hence the color and the figurative dullness.

drap Middle French drappus Late Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# drab

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /dræb/
**IPA (UK):** /dræb/

## Meanings
1. dull and lacking brightness or interest; of a dull brownish color

## Examples
- The office walls were painted a depressing, drab gray.

## Synonyms
- dull
- dreary
- colorless
- dingy
- gloomy
- lackluster
- cheerless
- monotonous

## Antonyms
- bright
- colorful
- vivid
- cheerful
- vibrant

## Derived Forms
- drabness
- drably

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: drap
- Root: drappus

## Etymology
From Middle French 'drap' ('cloth'), from Late Latin 'drappus' ('cloth'); originally a kind of dull undyed woolen cloth, hence the color and the figurative dullness.

## AI Etymology
Drab is from Middle French 'drap' ('cloth'), from Late Latin 'drappus' ('cloth'); originally a kind of dull undyed woolen cloth, hence the color and the figurative dullness. Important recorded forms include drap (Middle French) and drappus (Late Latin). The current sense covers dull and lacking brightness or interest; of a dull brownish color. The wider family includes derived forms such as drabness and drably.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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