Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To cause to sleep or rest; soothe or calm.
  • intransitive verb To deceive into trustfulness.
  • intransitive verb To become calm.
  • noun A relatively calm interval, as in a storm.
  • noun An interval of lessened activity.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun That which lulls; a quieting or soothing influence.
  • noun Temporary quiet and rest; suspension of activity or turmoil, as in a storm or any kind of excessive action.
  • To quiet; compose; assuage; caress; cause to rest or subside by gentle, soothing means: as, to lull a child or a feverish patient; to lull grief, pain, or suspicion.
  • To deceive.
  • Synonyms To calm, hush, tranquilize.
  • To subside; cease; become calm: as, the wind lulls.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm; to soothe; to quiet.
  • noun rare The power or quality of soothing; that which soothes; a lullaby.
  • noun A temporary cessation of storm or confusion.
  • intransitive verb To become gradually calm; to subside; to cease or abate for a time.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A period of rest or soothing
  • noun nautical a period without waves or wind.
  • noun surfing An extended pause between sets of waves.
  • verb transitive To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm; to soothe; to quiet.
  • verb intransitive, nautical of the surface of the sea, to not move due to a lack of wind and waves.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb make calm or still
  • noun a pause during which things are calm or activities are diminished
  • noun a period of calm weather
  • verb calm by deception
  • verb become quiet or less intensive

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English lullen, possibly of Low German origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English lullen, lollen. Cognate with Scots lul, lule, loll ("to lull, put to sleep, howl, caterwaul"), Dutch lollen ("to sing badly, caterwaul"), Dutch lullen ("to chatter, prate, cheat, deceive"), Low German lullen ("to lull"), German lullen ("to lull"), Danish lulle ("to lull, sing to sleep"), Swedish lulla ("to lull"), Icelandic lulla ("to lull"). Originally, perhaps expressive in origin from la-la-la or lu-lu-lu sounds made in calming a child.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word lull.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • An 'l' of a word.

    November 25, 2007

  • Agreed, SoG! "Lull" came to mind immediately when I decided to put a one-syllable word on my favorites list. Only plinth tops it for me.

    November 25, 2007

  • No comments in the past two hours. An unusual lull in Wordieland. A little eerie.

    June 18, 2009

  • It often happens on Saturday mornings :-(

    June 18, 2009