lustre
Americannoun
noun
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reflected light; sheen; gloss
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radiance or brilliance of light
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great splendour of accomplishment, beauty, etc
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a substance used to polish or put a gloss on a surface
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a vase or chandelier from which hang cut-glass drops
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a drop-shaped piece of cut glass or crystal used as a decoration on a chandelier, vase, etc
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a shiny metallic surface on some pottery and porcelain
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( as modifier )
lustre decoration
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mineralogy the way in which light is reflected from the surface of a mineral. It is one of the properties by which minerals are defined
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lustre
C16: from Old French, from Old Italian lustro, from Latin lustrāre to make bright; related to lustrum
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.
See Examples For:
He argued that rival destinations were gaining ground while Vienna, increasingly expensive compared to other central European capitals, "is losing its lustre".
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
For one, she thinks working from home has "lost some of its lustre" among twenty-somethings.
From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2025
Versace's lustre had been waning in recent years, unlike that of the Prada Group, which is in robust health, fuelled by strong sales of its younger Miu Miu Line.
From Barron's ● Dec. 2, 2025
The mold is hand polished to a mirror finish, giving the bumper its lustre.
From Reuters ● Sep. 18, 2023
Richard Parker’s fur lost its lustre, and some of it even fell away from his shoulders and haunches.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
If it slipped, whose were the lustred pots?
From The Collectors by Mather, Frank Jewett
Within her eyes the sapphire gates of heaven unclosed to me; in the splendor of lustred hair was life-warmth.
From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 2, February, 1864 Devoted To Literature And National Policy by Various
Lustred Wares.—The lustred wares of Deruta have marked characteristics, and, though differing in actual treatment from the Hispano-Moresque, their appearance is eloquent in favour of such a derivation.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6 "Celtes, Konrad" to "Ceramics" by Various
It is impossible to discover the origin of the lustred pottery of Valencia, but it probably dates from the beginning of the 15th century, when it became the most important in Spain.
From The Collector's Handbook to Keramics of the Renaissance and Modern Periods by Chaffers, William
Let into the woodwork panelling in the west bay there are two small lustred Persian tiles of the thirteenth century.
From Frederic Lord Leighton An Illustrated Record of His Life and Work by Rhys, Ernest
The material called lutestring was formerly lustring, Fr. lustrine, from its glossiness.
From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Weekley, Ernest
One of these caps in heavy black lustring lingered by chance in my home--worn by some forgotten ancestor.
From Two Centuries of Costume in America, Volume 1 (1620-1820) by Earle, Alice Morse
John Hall's "lustre for whisks" was of course lustring, or lutestring, a soft half-lustred pure silk fabric which was worn constantly for two centuries.
From Two Centuries of Costume in America, Volume 1 (1620-1820) by Earle, Alice Morse
Once on a day let my beloved write my name, And pour the lustring water with his rosy hands!
From Vidy?pati: Bang?ya pad?bali; songs of the love of R?dh? and Krishna by Vidy?pati Th?kura
A new white lustring sacque and petticoat lay on the bed.
From Beaux and Belles of England Mrs. Mary Robinson, Written by Herself, With the lives of the Duchesses of Gordon and Devonshire by Robinson, Mary
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.
