What's the difference between lull and mull?

Lull


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm; to soothe; to quiet.
  • (v. i.) To become gradually calm; to subside; to cease or abate for a time; as, the storm lulls.
  • (n.) The power or quality of soothing; that which soothes; a lullaby.
  • (n.) A temporary cessation of storm or confusion.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Dictated by underlying physicochemical constraints, deceived at times by the lulling tones of the siren entropy, and constantly vulnerable to the vagaries of other more pervasive forms of biological networking and information transfer encoded in the genes of virus and invading microorganisms, protein biorecognition in higher life forms, and particularly in mammals, represents the finely tuned molecular avenues for the genome to transfer its information to the next generation.
  • (2) Spurs were almost sleepwalking to a comfortable win, with even the crowd lulled into the inevitability of it all, when sloppiness flared.
  • (3) The reason for this odd period of apparent inactivity is not just the lull caused by the summer break or even the shock of the British vote to leave the EU.
  • (4) A definite increase was noticed in the number of cases per block following lull years in 1984 and 1987.
  • (5) There was anecdotal evidence to suggest revenge pornography images were being circulated among teenagers in schools and applications such as Snapchat (where photos disappear after a few seconds) were lulling young people into a false sense of security.
  • (6) There's a brief lull as Seattle try to just get their collective foot on the ball and try to maybe calm what's still a fantastically raucous crowd.
  • (7) Let us not forget that returning veterans of the "war to end all wars were promised a "land fit for heroes", yet what they got post-1918 was poverty, squalor, unemployment and, after a short lull, more war.
  • (8) So, something of a summer lull, but we'll do our best.
  • (9) There's a lull while Mark Hudson gets treatment for cramp.
  • (10) Word of their last-minute intervention to delay the sanctions never filtered down to working-level officials at the State Department during the holiday lull.
  • (11) 6.15am After an hour and a half of furious exchanges, there was a lull in the fighting.
  • (12) Animals that were subjected to sham surgery or anesthesia alone showed a delay of 4.4 h in the reappearance of LH secretion, similar to the lull in LH pulsations normally observed at the time of day.
  • (13) First comes a feeling of euphoria: then the diver gets overconfident, lulled into a false sense of security, and dangerously overestimates how long they have left.
  • (14) Shortly after 4pm there was a brief lull when Father Hugh Mullan, a 40-year-old priest who lived in Springfield Park, remonstrated with the crowds.
  • (15) After a deliberately hazy and meandering first half – one that lulls both reader and characters into a false sense of security – the second part of the novel barely breathes.
  • (16) The poem is structured like a lament, the soldiers' epitaphs interspersed with direct translations of Homer's extended similes, each of which is transcribed, lullingly, twice over.
  • (17) The next time you hear mollifying words from Rudd that our rising debt levels are at reasonable levels compared to other countries, think about how Britons were lulled into the financial danger zone and ask yourself: are we on the same trajectory?
  • (18) At the moment, there's a bit of a lull and it's very quiet.
  • (19) Midnight in Paris , his biggest box-office earner to date , might have lulled you into assuming late-stage Allen was pipe-and-slippers stuff.
  • (20) Barcelona did succeed in lulling United into a false sense of security, however, for when they put together their first meaningful attack after 10 minutes the defensive line in front of Van der Sar crumbled alarmingly to allow the goalkeeper to be beaten at his near post.

Mull


Definition:

  • (n.) A thin, soft kind of muslin.
  • (n.) A promontory; as, the Mull of Cantyre.
  • (n.) A snuffbox made of the small end of a horn.
  • (n.) Dirt; rubbish.
  • (v. t.) To powder; to pulverize.
  • (v. i.) To work (over) mentally; to cogitate; to ruminate; -- usually with over; as, to mull over a thought or a problem.
  • (n.) An inferior kind of madder prepared from the smaller roots or the peelings and refuse of the larger.
  • (v. t.) To heat, sweeten, and enrich with spices; as, to mull wine.
  • (v. t.) To dispirit or deaden; to dull or blunt.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The quantum leap in integration being mulled will not save Greece, rescue Spain's banks, sort out Italy, or fix the euro crisis in the short term.
  • (2) If we managed to import a German royal family, why is it not possible for us to also import the German housing system – slowly, bit by bit, along with their Christmas trees and mulled wine?
  • (3) Najam Sethi, editor of the weekly Friday Times, said: "The powers that be, that is the military and bureaucratic establishment, are mulling the formation of a national government, with or without the PPP [the ruling Pakistan People's party].
  • (4) Waizenhoffer and Mulling (1978) compared arterial and venous blood gases, but only drew a limited number of arterial samples at 12 and 24 hours.
  • (5) Many parents think hard about what kind of books to buy for their children; mull over the suitability of various TV shows and films; and compare the educational and entertainment value of different toys.
  • (6) Mercury vapor levels associated with grinding amalgam models and mulling amalgams in the palm of the hand following trituration have been measured in a dental laboratory in inhalation position.
  • (7) "The same is true every time we start mulling the prospect of attacking and bombing another country as though it's some abstract decision in a video game."
  • (8) While the Bank's monetary policy committee was forced to sit on its hands, counterparts on the European Central Bank were mulling whether to slash rates from 1.25%.
  • (9) I have tried them but don’t know what to do with them.” What matters is creating an environment that convinces, that allows the chemistry to be right: “Creating a world that feels as if they have been together for decades, choosing books for their shelves, deciding which mugs they are going to have, what their daily routine is.” In lieu of rehearsals, he spent three days in Paris with Rampling, mulling over her character.
  • (10) After leaving university, Gibbard mulled over the problem for a while and decided to try to solve it using a 3D printer, technology which by then becoming more affordable.
  • (11) Óscar García has offered his resignation following Brighton & Hove Albion's defeat in their play-off semi-final against Derby County , with the Spaniard likely to leave this week, despite being given time to mull over his decision.
  • (12) Police sources say the Cheshire chief constable, Simon Byrne, who has senior-level experience in the Met, is also mulling a bid.
  • (13) McCluskey is thought to be mulling over whether to stand again as general secretary in internal elections in 2018.
  • (14) "Obviously there was some difficult stuff for her to mull over in terms of the abuse, but she felt that I'd balanced it – which was my main concern – with the kind of pathos he had about him.
  • (15) The winning recipe: Mulled apple juice with camomile Photograph: afdhsofisa for the Guardian Mulled apple juice is basically all the spices of mulled wine added to apple juice instead.
  • (16) The Guardian understands that May’s team was still mulling over the issue as recently as Thursday evening, when senior figures said no decision had been taken.
  • (17) Looking back now I would have started out with far less optimism had I known how many hours I would spend in airless rooms, how many animated discussions, how many sleepless nights mulling over the pros and cons of settling the case.
  • (18) The move to create a new regulator has become becalmed as both press and government mull over the unsatisfactory and botched detail of the royal charter which is intended to enshrine its governance and independence.
  • (19) Mexicans mull response to Trump's wall: let migrants through – or boycott McDonald's?
  • (20) Whatever the outcome in 2015, the disaffected, idealistic young graduates currently mulling a Green vote will be restlessly looking for change, and will continue to pose questions for Labour well after 7 May 2015 Robert Ford is senior lecturer in politics at the University of Manchester