Drab
adjective
Having a dull or lacking color.
He wore a drab gray suit to the party.
Often appears as...
- drab outfit
- drab color
adjective
Not interesting or exciting.
She found her daily routine at work very drab.
Often appears as...
- drab life
- drab personality
Usage tips
Disapproving
noun
A prostitute or a woman of low morals.
In medieval times, a woman in a tavern might be labelled a drab.
Usage tips
Slang, Disapproving
Historic
noun
A small sum of money or a petty debt.
She owed him a drab for the bread he lent her.
Usage tips
Formal
Historic
adjective
Having a dull or lacking color.
He wore a drab gray suit to the party.
Often appears as...
- drab outfit
- drab color
adjective
Not interesting or exciting.
She found her daily routine at work very drab.
Often appears as...
- drab life
- drab personality
Usage tips
Disapproving
noun
A prostitute or a woman of low morals.
In medieval times, a woman in a tavern might be labelled a drab.
Usage tips
Slang, Disapproving
Historic
noun
A small sum of money or a petty debt.
She owed him a drab for the bread he lent her.
Usage tips
Formal
Historic
Definition 1 of 4
Pro Tip 1/3Not Always Negative
Though 'drab' suggests dullness, it's not always used critically and can be merely descriptive.
The drab winter landscape had a beauty of its own.
Pro Tip 2/3Visual Imagery
Use 'drab' to evoke visual imagery of lackluster appearance in your writing.
The artist's palette consisted of drab, earthy tones.
Pro Tip 3/3Setting Tone
Describing a scene as 'drab' can set a somber or dreary mood in storytelling.
The drab room mirrored his somber mood.
Pro Tip 1/3Not Always Negative
Though 'drab' suggests dullness, it's not always used critically and can be merely descriptive.
The drab winter landscape had a beauty of its own.
Pro Tip 2/3Visual Imagery
Use 'drab' to evoke visual imagery of lackluster appearance in your writing.
The artist's palette consisted of drab, earthy tones.
Pro Tip 3/3Setting Tone
Describing a scene as 'drab' can set a somber or dreary mood in storytelling.
The drab room mirrored his somber mood.
Pro Tip 1/3Not Always Negative
Though 'drab' suggests dullness, it's not always used critically and can be merely descriptive.
The drab winter landscape had a beauty of its own.
Pro Tip 2/3Visual Imagery
Use 'drab' to evoke visual imagery of lackluster appearance in your writing.
The artist's palette consisted of drab, earthy tones.
Pro Tip 3/3Setting Tone
Describing a scene as 'drab' can set a somber or dreary mood in storytelling.
The drab room mirrored his somber mood.
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Video examples
Steve Backshall on a...
colors which are some of the most dramatic you will ever see in the whole natural world these flash colors are used presumably to to intimidate a foe to scare away a predator that might want to be feasting on a blue ringed octopus and all of a sudden you'll go from a very drab early colored animal something
Video examples
The 5 Musketeers Have an...
it's not too hot the Sun isn't art these these beautiful kind of clouds that are spread across the sky they've got green grass which is just so pleasant on the eye after months of drab Brown sort of dead voltage and so to have this and with this peaceful bull elephant as he munches away it's been absolutely
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 31 PIPE...
my favorite time of the year and the reason why as we come out of this cold winter which I'm not a fan of cold I like hot weather and the hotter the better really and so I'm happy with the hot weather then and also we go out of cold dry drab Brown sort of dusty into life fill the beautiful greens lots of
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 292 PIPE...
is all brown and drab in coloration in compare comparison to the male but they really are nice birds to see as if you Cape turtledoves and also sitting on top you know yes they look all right now I'm sure Jamie's going to give me trouble about Cape turtledoves because this morning when said my
Video examples
Mystery of the Romanovs...
lived in a drab compound in the remote city of Yekaterinburg near the siberian border prisoners of communist revolutionaries fighting to control russia just past midnight with troops loyal to the tsar fast approaching the city the guards wake the royal family telling
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 198 PIPE...
always so pretty when they come out and add a bit of color to our drab winter although they're not exactly a bright color are they they're kind of creamy color look very much like a lot of the grass or aren't you but they add a lot of life
Video examples
Inside America's dead...
frankly I didn't think others would share the enthusiasm for such a drab and depressing topic. But apparently I was wrong, because a lot of people started to comment. And at first the comments were like --
Video examples
Where joy hides and how...
And this aligns with research conducted in four countries, which shows that people working in more colorful offices are actually more alert, more confident and friendlier than those working in drab spaces.
Video examples
Sir David Attenborough...
so like that of a giant panda however whereas the drab brown lemur is active during the day this rough lemur is mostly nocturnal and many animals that only come out at night are colored black and white
Video examples
Dancing Birds of...
sometime in the distant past a drab crow like bird settled in you guineas forests over the years its descendants were isolated in separate vowels today there
Video examples
Steve Backshall on a...
colors which are some of the most dramatic you will ever see in the whole natural world these flash colors are used presumably to to intimidate a foe to scare away a predator that might want to be feasting on a blue ringed octopus and all of a sudden you'll go from a very drab early colored animal something
Video examples
The 5 Musketeers Have an...
it's not too hot the Sun isn't art these these beautiful kind of clouds that are spread across the sky they've got green grass which is just so pleasant on the eye after months of drab Brown sort of dead voltage and so to have this and with this peaceful bull elephant as he munches away it's been absolutely
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 31 PIPE...
my favorite time of the year and the reason why as we come out of this cold winter which I'm not a fan of cold I like hot weather and the hotter the better really and so I'm happy with the hot weather then and also we go out of cold dry drab Brown sort of dusty into life fill the beautiful greens lots of
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 292 PIPE...
is all brown and drab in coloration in compare comparison to the male but they really are nice birds to see as if you Cape turtledoves and also sitting on top you know yes they look all right now I'm sure Jamie's going to give me trouble about Cape turtledoves because this morning when said my
Video examples
Mystery of the Romanovs...
lived in a drab compound in the remote city of Yekaterinburg near the siberian border prisoners of communist revolutionaries fighting to control russia just past midnight with troops loyal to the tsar fast approaching the city the guards wake the royal family telling
Video examples
Safari Live - Day 198 PIPE...
always so pretty when they come out and add a bit of color to our drab winter although they're not exactly a bright color are they they're kind of creamy color look very much like a lot of the grass or aren't you but they add a lot of life
Video examples
Inside America's dead...
frankly I didn't think others would share the enthusiasm for such a drab and depressing topic. But apparently I was wrong, because a lot of people started to comment. And at first the comments were like --
Video examples
Where joy hides and how...
And this aligns with research conducted in four countries, which shows that people working in more colorful offices are actually more alert, more confident and friendlier than those working in drab spaces.
Video examples
Sir David Attenborough...
so like that of a giant panda however whereas the drab brown lemur is active during the day this rough lemur is mostly nocturnal and many animals that only come out at night are colored black and white
Video examples
Dancing Birds of...
sometime in the distant past a drab crow like bird settled in you guineas forests over the years its descendants were isolated in separate vowels today there
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
John Tiffany
English Director
Philistines' was so beautiful, and it bored me to death. I never want to see another production where the rain splashes against a window and actors wander around in drab cardigans saying, 'I'm so bored.
Quote examples
Jonathan Miles
A mourning dove's beauty is an understated one: the colors of its feathers ranging through various shades of gray and drab violet, often with a striking splash of turquoise around the eyes.
Quote examples
Liza Minnelli
American Actress
I thought that making movies was drab. I'd lived through that. And I didn't want to use my parents, ever... They didn't want to push me into this business.
Quote examples
Mary Roberts Rinehart
American Novelist
The writing career is not a romantic one. The writer's life may be colorful, but his work itself is rather drab.
Quote examples
Ravi Subramanian
Indian Author
One can become drab, dull, and boring doing the same thing every day. Writing helps break the monotony.
Quote examples
Cyd Charisse
American Actress
I always thought those old drab clothes from 'Silk Stockings' were the worst things I wore.
Quote examples
Eva Longoria
American Actress
To be with the same person for the rest of your life just sounds so drab.
Quote examples
Richard Burton
Welsh Actor
How drab people are, especially from the press.
Quote examples
Alain de Botton
English Writer
My office. It's drab and boring but quiet.
Quote examples
Thomas Leonard
American Businessman
Don't be drab.
Quote examples
John Tiffany
English Director
Philistines' was so beautiful, and it bored me to death. I never want to see another production where the rain splashes against a window and actors wander around in drab cardigans saying, 'I'm so bored.
Quote examples
Jonathan Miles
A mourning dove's beauty is an understated one: the colors of its feathers ranging through various shades of gray and drab violet, often with a striking splash of turquoise around the eyes.
Quote examples
Liza Minnelli
American Actress
I thought that making movies was drab. I'd lived through that. And I didn't want to use my parents, ever... They didn't want to push me into this business.
Quote examples
Mary Roberts Rinehart
American Novelist
The writing career is not a romantic one. The writer's life may be colorful, but his work itself is rather drab.
Quote examples
Ravi Subramanian
Indian Author
One can become drab, dull, and boring doing the same thing every day. Writing helps break the monotony.
Quote examples
Cyd Charisse
American Actress
I always thought those old drab clothes from 'Silk Stockings' were the worst things I wore.
Quote examples
Eva Longoria
American Actress
To be with the same person for the rest of your life just sounds so drab.
Quote examples
Richard Burton
Welsh Actor
How drab people are, especially from the press.
Quote examples
Alain de Botton
English Writer
My office. It's drab and boring but quiet.
Quote examples
Thomas Leonard
American Businessman
Don't be drab.
Example 1 of 10
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