bland
1 Americanadjective
-
pleasantly gentle or agreeable.
a bland, affable manner.
-
soothing or balmy, as air.
a bland southern breeze.
- Antonyms:
- harsh
-
nonirritating, as food or medicines.
a bland diet.
- Antonyms:
- irritating
-
not highly flavored; mild; tasteless.
a bland sauce.
-
lacking in special interest, liveliness, individuality, etc.; insipid; dull.
a bland young man; a bland situation comedy.
-
unemotional, indifferent, or casual.
his bland acknowledgment of guilt.
noun
adjective
-
devoid of any distinctive or stimulating characteristics; uninteresting; dull
bland food
-
gentle and agreeable; suave
-
(of the weather) mild and soothing
-
unemotional or unmoved
a bland account of atrocities
Other Word Forms
- blandly adverb
- blandness noun
Etymology
Origin of bland
First recorded in 1590–1600, bland is from the Latin word blandus of a smooth tongue, pleasant, soothing
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The grocery store offers blackberries in January, cherries in October, tomatoes that arrive with the bland composure of year-round availability.
From Salon
Furnished in the bland decor of an extended-stay hotel, it lived up to its billing: recent construction, high ceilings, a patio and fenced yard.
Another, “Altars,” is a tame and ultimately bland song by Ms. Aitchison’s high standards, with a chorus—“One is not the loneliest number”—that draws on a pop cliché without interrogating or transforming it.
By rights, Jonah thought, Chip should be with Jonah too, waiting in this bland government office to meet with James Reardon.
From Literature
The bland, if inclusive, speculative history of “Hollywood.”
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
