Bored vs Boring at a glance
- bored
/bɔːd/ · adjective
Feeling tired and unhappy because nothing interesting is happening.
- I was so bored during the meeting that I nearly fell asleep.
- The kids get bored on long car journeys.
- boring
/ˈbɔːrɪŋ/ · adjective
Not interesting; making you feel bored.
- The meeting was really boring.
- I find golf a bit boring to watch.
How to remember it
-ed is how you feel inside; -ing is what the thing does to you. The same rule works for tired/tiring, interested/interesting, excited/exciting.
Good to know
Be careful: "I'm boring" is grammatical, but it means other people find you dull. Say "bored with" or "bored of" (more informal) for the thing: "I'm bored with this game."
Common mistakes
Wrong: I'm boring. Let's do something.
Right: I'm bored. Let's do something.
Wrong: The lesson was very bored.
Right: The lesson was very boring.
Quick quiz
1.There's nothing to do here. I'm .
2.His speech was long and .
3.She quit her job because she was with it.
Pick the right word for each gap.