Headway Word of the Week
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bored/boring (adjectives)
Adjectives with -ed describe how you feel. So, bored describes how you feel because there is nothing to do.
- It was raining. There was nothing on TV. All my friends were away. I was very bored!
Adjectives with -ing describe what something is like. So, boring is used to describe things that are not interesting, where nothing happens.
- The film lasted three hours, and nothing happened. It was a very boring film.
Compare bored and boring
- The student was very bored. He drew pictures in his notebook, and looked out of the window.
(= it describes how the student felt) - The teacher was very boring. He talked and talked and talked in a monotonous voice.
(= it describes what the teacher was like)
Check out bored, tired, and annoyed
- I've been walking in the mountains all day, and I feel very tired. I think I'll go to bed.
- I've been at work all day, and nobody has washed up or cleaned the house. I feel very annoyed.
(= a bit angry) - I've done nothing all day. I feel bored.
Check out collocations with boring
- a boring day
- a boring lesson/lecture
- a boring town
- a boring story
- a boring conversation
Check out related words
- tired/tiring
- annoyed/annoying
- dull
- fed up
- tedious
- monotonous
⇒ Learn more words in the Word of the Week archive