i Register
In some senses, dun is marked as informal, dated. Watch for register when choosing this word.
dun
/dʌn/
noun 11verb 5name 5adj 1intj 1
Collocations
5ADJ.
brownish, dramatic, other, soon, tiresome
VERB + DUN
chill, give, power
DUN + NOUN
hairs, morning, music
PREP.
on, with
ADV.
perhaps, rascally
Definitions
noun
1
A brownish grey colour.
adj
1
Of a brownish grey colour.
Come, thick Night, And pall thee in the dunneſt ſmoake of Hell, That my keene Knife ſee not the Wound it makes, Nor Heauen peepe through the Blanket of the darke, To cry, hold, hold.
My Miſtres eyes are nothing like the Sunne, Currall is farre more red, then her lips red, If ſnow be white, why then her breſts are dun: If hairs be wiers, black wiers grow on her head: [...]
noun
1
A collector of debts, especially one who is insistent and demanding.
"The truth is, Mr. Curl, I cannot write when I am plagued about trifles; and a tiresome dun this morning put to flight every idea that I had in the world." "Mr. Maynard," said the bookseller, in a solemn tone, "it is very wrong to run in debt."
Look ye, gentlemen, I have lived with credit in the world, and it grieves my heart never to stir out of my doors but to be pulled by the sleeve by some rascally dun or other.
2
An urgent request or demand of payment.
Miss Hoppin received a dun for volume 9 1840–1 which Mr. James McConnell, (who now pays the above) is sure was paid.
Thesaurus
Idioms & Phrases
Example Bank
601
Come, thick Night, And pall thee in the dunneſt ſmoake of Hell, That my keene Knife ſee not the Wound it makes, Nor Heauen peepe through the Blanket of the darke, To cry, hold, hold.
Wiktionary02
My Miſtres eyes are nothing like the Sunne, Currall is farre more red, then her lips red, If ſnow be white, why then her breſts are dun: If hairs be wiers, black wiers grow on her head: [...]
Wiktionary03
Red o'er the forest glows the setting sun, / The line of yellow light dies fast away / That crown'd the eastern copse, and chill and dun / Falls on the moor the brief November day.
Wiktionary04
"The truth is, Mr. Curl, I cannot write when I am plagued about trifles; and a tiresome dun this morning put to flight every idea that I had in the world." "Mr. Maynard," said the bookseller, in a sol
Wiktionary05
Look ye, gentlemen, I have lived with credit in the world, and it grieves my heart never to stir out of my doors but to be pulled by the sleeve by some rascally dun or other.
Wiktionary06
Melancholy duns came looking for him at all hours.
WiktionaryUsage Notes
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