dim vs drab

dim

adj
  • Not bright or colorful. 

  • Indistinct, hazy or unclear. 

  • Not smart or intelligent. 

  • Disapproving, unfavorable: rarely used outside the phrase take a dim view of. 

verb
  • To render dim, obscure, or dark; to make less bright or distinct 

  • To make something less bright. 

  • To deprive of distinct vision; to hinder from seeing clearly, either by dazzling or clouding the eyes; to darken the senses or understanding of. 

  • To become darker. 

drab

adj
  • Particularly of colour: dull, uninteresting. 

  • Of the colour of some types of drabcloth: dull brownish yellow or dun. 

noun
  • An instance of a transgender or non-binary person presenting as the gender corresponding to their sex assigned at birth instead of that corresponding to their internal gender identity (for instance, a trans woman dressed as a man). 

  • A dull or uninteresting appearance or situation, unremarkable. 

  • A fabric, usually of thick cotton or wool, having a dull brownish yellow, dull grey, or dun colour. 

  • Often in the plural form drabs: apparel, especially trousers, made from this fabric. 

  • The colour of this fabric. 

  • A small amount, especially of money. 

  • A box used in a saltworks for holding the salt when taken out of the boiling pans. 

How often have the words dim and drab occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )