insulsus

Insulsus is a classical Latin adjective meaning dull, insipid, or tasteless. In ordinary use it could describe food that lacks flavor as well as speech, behavior, or a person deemed tedious or stupid. The term commonly conveys a lack of vitality or interest, whether in a meal, a conversation, or a character.

In Latin literature, insulsus appears in both prose and poetry to express blandness or unimpressiveness. It can be applied to concrete objects, such as a bland dish, or to abstract qualities, such as dull wit or tedious rhetoric. The sense is broadly negative and evaluative, and the word often carries nuance beyond mere lack of flavor.

Etymology for insulsus is uncertain. It is treated as a standard Latin adjective forming part of the 1st/2nd declension class, with masculine form insulsus, feminine insulsa, and neuter insulsum. Like other adjectives of this class, it agrees with the noun it modifies in gender, number, and case. The comparative and superlative forms follow the typical pattern for 1st/2nd declension adjectives: insulsior and insulsissimus, respectively.

Today, insulsus is primarily of historical and linguistic interest. In modern English, the closest semantic equivalents are insipid or bland, rather than a direct loanword from Latin. The term is occasionally encountered in scholarly discussions of Latin vocabulary and style.

See also: Latin adjectives, insipidus, bland.