leaden

CEFRC1

/ˈlɛdən/

adjective

Türkçe translations

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In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Heavy, dull, or gray like lead.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Of or related to the metal lead, particularly, Resembling the color of lead, metallic or dark gray; (of daylight) dim, overcast.

Examples

  • His backache left him lurching along with leaden legs.

  • My legs were leaden from fatigue.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
1
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Made of lead.

  2. Of or related to the metal lead, particularly

  3. Resembling the color of lead, metallic or dark gray; (of daylight) dim, overcast.

More examples

In context

  • It was at the end of February..., when the world was cold..., when icy rains fell from the leaden skies in continual drizzling showers.

  • The sky was dark and overcast, a leaden pall producing a deep gloom.

  • Which break a teachless nature to the yoke.

Synonyms

Quick test

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Question 1 · Quick check

The sky was blank and very dark, threatening to bring heavy rain.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English leden, leaden, from Old English lēaden (“leaden, of lead”). Cognate with West Frisian leaden (“leaden”), Dutch loden (“leaden”). By surface analysis, lead + -en.