Ennui [ahn-wee, ahn-wee]
Not all boredom is created equal: some of it is
fleeting and circumstantial, and some of it teeters on existential crisis. Ennui tends
toward the latter--or at least it used to. Derived from the French verb enuier meaning "to
annoy," its peak usage was in Victorian and Romantic literature to express
a profound sense of weariness, even a spiritual emptiness or alienation from
one's surroundings and time. Nowadays it's used at both ends of the boredom
spectrum, but its deep literary history lends even the most shallow disinterest
a grandiose air.
Bromodic [broh-mid-ik]
Bromide is a chemical compound that was commonly
used in sedatives in the 1800 and 1900s. It took on a figurative sense to mean
a trite saying or verbal sedative, or a person who is platitudinous and boring,
in the early 1900s with help of the U.S. humorist Frank Gelett Burgess, who
published a book titled Are You
a Bromide? in 1907. The next time a particularly bland work
meeting lulls you into a near coma, remember to mentally log it as bromidic just
before nodding off.
Prosaic [proh-zey-ik]
If your personal brand of boredom stems from a
deficit of literal or figurative poetry in your life, this is the word for you.
Now commonly used to mean dull, matter-of-fact, or unimaginative, prosaic entered
the lexicon as the adjectival form of the word prose--as in not poetry. Its evolution to
mean uninspired and commonplace in a broader context feels in many ways like a
love letter to the oft-neglected literary genre.
Insipid [in-sip-id]
Much like bland and flavorless, insipid is
commonly used to describe food that leaves your tastebuds wanting more, but
it's also used in an abstract sense to describe a person, place or thing that
lacks distinction, depth or intrigue. Its versatility can be attributed to its
root word, the Latin sapidus, which translates to well-tasted,
wise, or prudent. The next time you find yourself surrounded by droning company
and uninspired cuisine (perhaps on your next flight?) liven things up with this
handy twofer.
Platitudinous [plat-i-tood-n-uhs, -tyood-]
Stemming from the French word for flat, plat (think plateau), platitudinous is
used most frequently to refer to lackluster or trite use of language. A
political speech brimming with tiresome rhetoric and cliches can be said to be
platitudinous, but with this illuminating descriptor in your word arsenal, your
bemoaning of the speech doesn't have to be.