doldrum
/ˈdɑldɹəm/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Example Sentences
- "Were there no "tears and miseries," when the half-witted doldrums, thinking they were not big enough to be seen, put themselves on horseback, to bask and frolic in a procession, and meet their man-midwife, or surgeon, or whatever he is, who had left his business at Norwich, to go to London, for the purpose of administering their little nostrum to the Prince Regent?"
- "She quit her doldrum job and left to seek a life of adventure."
Etymology
The noun is possibly derived from dull or Middle English dold (past participle of dullen, dollen (“to make or become blunt or dull; to make or become dull-witted or stupid; to make or become inactive”), from dul, dol, dolle (“not sharp, blunt, dull; not quick-witted, stupid; lethargic, sluggish”); see further at dull), modelled after tantrum. The adjective is probably derived from the noun.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈdɑldɹəm/
- British English: /ˈdɒldɹəm/