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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
William Arruda, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
Acuña's performance in Triple-A during 2024 was lackluster, consisting of a .654 OPS in 587 plate appearances.
—Jason Fields, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024
Performance is great and the cameras are better than before, though battery life is still a bit lackluster.
—Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 30 Nov. 2024
Bernstein believes the stock is likely to rise by 75% in 2025 after this year’s lackluster performance.
—Ganesh Rao, CNBC, 28 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lackluster 
Cite this Entry
“Lackluster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lackluster. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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lackluster
adjective
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