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Lackluster may describe things that are dull, but the word itself is no yawn. In its earliest uses in the early 17th century, lackluster (also spelled lacklustre) usually described eyes that were dull or lacking in brightness, as in “a lackluster stare.” Later, it came to describe other things whose sheen had been removed; Charles Dickens, in his 1844 novel Martin Chuzzlewit, writes of the faded image of the dragon on the sign outside a village alehouse: “many a wintry storm of rain, snow, sleet, and hail, had changed his colour from a gaudy blue to a faint lack-lustre shade of grey.” These days lackluster is broadly used to describe anything blah, from a spiritless sensation to a humdrum hump day.
Examples of lackluster in a Sentence
Drew Vonscio, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 May 2025
The Edwardian-era, 164-bedroom hotel was previously a lackluster midmarket Holiday Inn.
—Carlton Reid, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
Stocks are coming off of a lackluster session Wednesday, but the major U.S. indexes are on track to close the week — and month — higher.
—Alex Harring,pia Singh, CNBC, 28 May 2025
Final Reckoning — which had a lock on Imax screens — more than made up for the lackluster $54.7 million five-day bow of Dead Reckoning, as well as supplanting the $61.2 million three-day launch of Fallout to set a new franchise opening record.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for lackluster
Cite this Entry
“Lackluster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lackluster. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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lackluster
adjective
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