on a dull morning

USAGE SUMMARY

"on a dull morning" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
You can use it when you want to describe a morning that is slow and uneventful. For example: "On a dull morning, I decided to stay in bed instead of getting up to go to work."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

On a dull morning with a brisk wind blowing there's only one place to go for a walk and that's the beach.

The Guardian

Now here she is on a dull morning in a studio in Brooklyn, dressed head to toe in Givenchy, her favourite designer, and nibbling on what looks like a pellet of astronaut food.

The Guardian - Arts

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

Not that organizers are predicting a dull evening.

The New York Times

They reminisce over the third party of their trio, debate what boring options for "fun" to take on a dull Friday night in their midwestern town and slowly the truth emerges.

Huffington Post

On a dull, morbid morning, a friend writes, he found himself amid crowds in the subway at Grand Central.

The New Yorker

The New Yorker, January 4 , 1988P. 17 On a dull, morbid morning, a friend writes, he found himself amid crowds in the subway at Grand Central.

The New Yorker

At about eight o'clock on a dull autumnal morning, a mother is preparing breakfast for her young son in the kitchen of an unassuming private house on a little modern estate in Leicester.

The Guardian

And sure enough, on a dull Friday morning, queues of pro-independence supporters formed outside cash points and inside banks in Barcelona and beyond, as people acted en masse to turn a normal activity — withdrawing a bit of cash — into a political protest by doing it simultaneously and at scale.

TechCrunch

I first watched a 16-year-old Will Joseph Cook play back in 2013 on a dull Tuesday night in Hoxton.

The Guardian - Music

On a dull Sunday afternoon, never having been to the east end before, I set off for a two-up, two-down in Plaistow where rehearsals were taking place before the shoot.

The Guardian

Leigh Montville, a sportswriter for The Boston Globe, bitterly composed an imaginary epitaph for Kim ("He gave his life to provide some entertainment on a dull Saturday afternoon in November"); the columnist George Will made Montville's implicit critique of the larger culture explicit: "A society," he wrote, "is judged by the kind of citizens it produces, and some entertainments are coarsening.

The New York Times - Magazine

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "on a dull morning" to set a specific tone or mood in your writing, indicating a lack of excitement or vibrancy at the beginning of the day.

Common error

Avoid using "on a dull morning" in passages that already heavily rely on adjectives and adverbs. This can make your writing sound repetitive and uninspired. Focus instead on showing, not telling, the morning's lack of vibrancy through actions and sensory details.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "on a dull morning" functions primarily as an adverbial phrase, modifying a verb by providing information about when an action takes place. As confirmed by Ludwig AI, it's a correct and usable expression.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

100%

Less common in

Science

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "on a dull morning" is a grammatically correct and usable prepositional phrase, as indicated by Ludwig AI, that functions as an adverbial modifier to set a scene or provide context. While its frequency is uncommon, it is found primarily in news and media sources. When using the phrase, consider how it contributes to the overall tone and mood of your writing, avoiding overuse in already descriptive passages. Alternatives such as "on a gray morning" or "on a dreary morning" can offer similar meanings with slightly different nuances.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

on a gray morning

Replaces "dull" with "gray", focusing on the lack of color in the morning.

on a bleak morning

Substitutes "dull" with "bleak", emphasizing a sense of desolation or sadness.

on a dreary morning

Uses "dreary" instead of "dull", highlighting the monotonous and depressing quality of the morning.

during a listless morning

Changes the structure and replaces "on" with "during" and "dull" with "listless", focusing on a lack of energy.

in the midst of a lackluster morning

Replaces "on" with "in the midst of" and "dull" with "lackluster", emphasizing a lack of excitement or interest.

under a somber morning sky

Shifts the focus to the sky's appearance, using "somber" to describe its mood.

at the start of a monotonous morning

Focuses on the repetitive nature of the morning, using "monotonous" instead of "dull".

as the uninspired morning began

Personifies the morning as uninspired, suggesting a lack of creativity or enthusiasm.

when the morning felt lifeless

Emphasizes the feeling of inactivity and stagnation during the morning.

during a spiritless morning

Uses "spiritless" to convey a lack of enthusiasm or vitality during the morning.

FAQs

How can I use "on a dull morning" in a sentence?

You can use "on a dull morning" to describe the setting or time in a narrative, for example: "On a dull morning, the protagonist made a critical decision that would change their life forever."

What are some synonyms for "on a dull morning"?

Alternatives include "on a gray morning", "on a dreary morning", or "on a bleak morning" depending on the specific nuance you want to convey.

Is it grammatically correct to say "in a dull morning" instead of "on a dull morning"?

While "in a dull morning" might be understandable, it's not the standard or idiomatic way to express the concept. "On a dull morning" is the more common and grammatically preferred phrasing.

What's the difference between "on a dull morning" and "on a dark morning"?

"On a dull morning" emphasizes the lack of vibrancy or excitement, while "on a dark morning" refers to the absence of light. They describe different qualities of the morning.