Etymology
Origin of lackluster
Explanation
Lackluster is a compound adjective that means what it sounds like: if something is lackluster it lacks luster; in other words, it is without brilliance, shine, or vitality. Think dull. Shakespeare gave us the compound lackluster, first using the term in his play As You Like It. In 2:7, the character Jacques says, "And then he drew a dial from his poke, And, looking on it with lack-lustre eye..." Since Shakespeare first coined this word, it has been used to describe anything "blah"; lackluster sales would worry shop owners and a lackluster prom dress might help you blend in with the wallpaper.
Vocabulary lists containing lackluster
100 SAT Words Beginning with "J," "K," and "L"
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This Week in Pop Culture: November 3 - 9, 2018
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The sector is attractively priced after a lackluster year, and offers healthy dividends and robust earnings growth.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
The Lucas also features several fresh commissions, including lackluster sociopolitical infiltrations by Banksy—a calculated bid for street cred.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Enforcement was lackluster, however, and legislative compromise killed a promising assessment to determine whether local Head Start programs were producing learning gains among their wee charges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Cole is a former cop who feels guilty about his father’s death, a backstory as lackluster as the exposition dumps that blurt it out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
“I’ve noticed a lackluster attitude growing among you.”
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
