bland

/blænd/

/blɑnd/

Other forms: blandest; blander

When you have a nasty cold and you’re very congested, food can taste unappealingly bland. That means dull, flavorless, or just plain “blah.”

Bland comes to us from the Latin word blandus, meaning “mild, smooth, flattering, alluring.” Funny, because today you wouldn't say there's anything "alluring" about something bland. People still use bland to mean pleasant and tranquil, but it more often has a negative connotation. Use it to describe plain old oatmeal before you’ve added brown sugar and berries to it, or to depict the forgettable, uninteresting personality of the lunch lady who served it to you.

Definitions of bland

1. adjective

   lacking taste or flavor or tang
   “a bland diet”

   synonyms: flat, flavorless, flavourless, insipid, savorless, savourless, vapid

   tasteless

   lacking flavor
2. adjective

   lacking stimulating characteristics; uninteresting
   “a bland little drama”

   synonyms: flat

   unexciting, unstimulating

   not stimulating
3. adjective

   smoothly agreeable and courteous with a degree of sophistication
   synonyms: politic, smooth, suave

   diplomatic, diplomatical

   using or marked by tact in dealing with sensitive matters or people