Dull in a way that lowers your mood. Two strands are always twisted together: nothing interesting is happening, and that emptiness makes you feel a bit sad.

Dull沉悶乏味 in a way that lowers your mood讓心情變差。Two strands兩條線 are always twisted together總是絞在一起：nothing interesting is happening沒有什麼有趣的事在發生，and that emptiness而那份空虛感 makes you feel a bit sad讓你覺得有點難過。

Take away either strand and it's a different word — something merely uninteresting is 'boring', something merely sad is 'sad', but dreary is both at once.

Take away either strand拿掉其中一條線 and it's a different word就變成另一個字了——something merely uninteresting只是無聊的東西 is 'boring'就是「無聊」，something merely sad只是難過的東西 is 'sad'就是「難過」，but dreary但dreary is both at once卻是兩者同時發生。

It goes most naturally with weather and places: a dreary November day, a dreary little town, dreary grey offices, a dreary hotel room. It also goes with work, tasks, and speeches when they drag on with nothing to hold you: 'a dreary meeting', 'the dreary business of filling in forms'.

It goes most naturally with weather and places它最自然搭配的是天氣和地方：a dreary November day陰鬱的十一月天、a dreary little town沉悶的小鎮、dreary grey offices灰暗沉悶的辦公室、a dreary hotel room令人提不起勁的旅館房間。It also goes with work, tasks, and speeches它也用來形容工作、任務和演講 when they drag on with nothing to hold you當它們拖拖拉拉、毫無看頭時：'a dreary meeting'「沉悶的會議」、'the dreary business of filling in forms'「填表格這種乏味的差事」。

Applied to a person it's harsh — 'he's dreary' means he drains the life out of a room, which is a real criticism, not a light one.

Applied to a person用在人身上時 it's harsh語氣就很重——'he's dreary'「he's dreary」 means he drains the life out of a room意思是他會把一個房間的活力都吸乾, which is a real criticism, not a light one這是很實在的批評，不是隨口說說。

It's mildly formal and more written than spoken; in conversation a Taiwanese student is safer with 'depressing' or 'really dull'.

It's mildly formal and more written than spoken它算稍微正式、比較書面而非口語；in conversation在對話裡, a Taiwanese student is safer台灣學生比較保險的做法是 with 'depressing' or 'really dull'用'depressing'或'really dull'。

Old poetry uses it to mean straightforwardly sad or gloomy, without the boredom part, so if you meet it in a nineteenth-century poem read it as 'bleak'.

Old poetry uses it古詩會用它 to mean straightforwardly sad or gloomy單純表示悲傷或陰鬱, without the boredom part不帶無聊的成分, so if you meet it in a nineteenth-century poem所以如果你在十九世紀的詩裡遇到它 read it as 'bleak'就理解成'bleak'（荒涼、淒清）。