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.
Lackluster growth over the summer is “a far cry” from recent peaks of double-digit increases in the index, Godec said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 30, 2025
But what to do when you give this finished pasta a taste and find that the sauce is: Lackluster?
From Salon • Mar. 21, 2025
Lackluster performance by companies that have gone public through SPACs as well as scrutiny from short sellers, activists and regulators also have created hurdles to getting deals done.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 23, 2021
Lackluster Love: He’s figuring this out, so, show him the respect of being honest.
From Washington Post • Aug. 3, 2021
Lackluster gasoline consumption figures from the EIA and a dropoff in diesel demand kept prices from moving higher, said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital in New York.
From Reuters • Sep. 16, 2020
Definitions 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.
