drab
lacking brightness or interest; dull and cheerless
Word origin: From Old French drap, cloth.
Drab in a sentence
Here are example sentences showing drab in a sentence.
The office walls were painted a drab shade of gray that lowered everyone's spirits.
The novel's drab opening chapters give little hint of the vivid drama to come.
Quick GRE check
3 questions, about 2 minutes. How would you do on the real test?
Verbal · Text Completion
Critics initially dismissed the composer's late works as merely blank, but later scholars recognized in them a deliberate restraint that concealed considerable technical sophistication.
Using “drab” well
Drab combines dullness of color with dullness of spirit, conveying a cheerless monotony. It is more pejorative than plain, which can be merely simple.
More GRE words starting with D
to engage in something superficially or as a casual pastime
a raised platform for speakers or honored guests
to waste time or act without urgency
to make something slightly wet, or to make a feeling or reaction less strong
marked with spots or patches of color or light
to intimidate or discourage with fear or doubt
to move slowly or waste time idly
a scarcity or shortage of something
Questions about “drab”
See these words the way the GRE tests them.
Take the free 39-minute GRE Quick Mock Test and meet words like this inside real Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions, with a worked solution for every answer.