Meaning & use
lull
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To make someone calm or sleepy, usually with soft sounds or gentle movement.
Grammar: Takes an object, often followed by to sleep: lull the baby to sleep.
Patterns
- lull someone to sleep
- lull someone into something
The steady hum of the train lulled the passengers to sleep.
She lulled the baby with a quiet song.
Waves lapping on the shore lulled him into a doze.
verbtransitivefigurative
To make someone feel safe or relaxed so that they stop paying attention to a risk.
Grammar: Usually followed by into: lull someone into a false sense of security.
Patterns
- lull someone into a false sense of security
- be lulled by something
Early success lulled the team into thinking the contest was won.
The salesman's friendly manner lulled her into signing quickly.
Don't be lulled by the calm weather; storms can arrive fast.
nounusually singular
A short period of quiet or reduced activity between times of greater intensity.
Grammar: Often with a: a lull in the fighting, the lull before the storm.
Patterns
- a lull in something
- a lull in the conversation
During a lull in the conversation, he checked his phone.
The shop was busy until a lull at three o'clock.
There was a brief lull in the wind before the rain returned.
Word forms
| third person singular | lulls |
|---|---|
| past tense | lulled |
| past participle | lulled |
| -ing form | lulling |
| plural noun | lulls |
Common combinations
- lull someone to sleep
- The rocking chair lulled him to sleep.
- a false sense of security
- Quiet months lulled the company into a false sense of security.
- a lull in the conversation
- In a lull in the conversation, she changed the subject.
- a brief lull
- After a brief lull, the crowd roared again.
- the lull before the storm
- The calm morning felt like the lull before the storm.
Synonyms and how they differ
- soothe
- Soothe stresses easing pain or worry, while lull stresses making someone sleepy or less alert.
- pause
- A pause can be chosen on purpose, whereas a lull just happens in the middle of activity.
- hush
- Hush means to make quiet, and does not suggest sleep or false comfort in the way lull does.
- respite
- Respite suggests relief from something unpleasant, while a lull is simply a quieter stretch.
Opposites
Word family
- lullaby noun
- a soft song sung to help a child sleep
- lulling adjective
- having a calming, sleepy effect
Commonly confused: lull or lullaby?
lull vs lullaby
A lullaby is a song; to lull is the action of calming someone, with or without music.
Practice
Which sentence uses lull in the sense of a quiet period?
Choose one answer.
Only the second sentence uses lull as a noun for a quiet stretch. The others use it as a verb about calming or deceiving someone.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lull”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.