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.
“In both instances, there are lackluster candidates, and so we see voters being very much undecided in both of these incredibly consequential races.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026
The shrinkage follows lackluster economic performance in 2025, which plummeted the company’s shares by 25% in February.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026
Gross domestic product expanded at a lackluster 0.7% annual pace in the fourth quarter, the government said Friday.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 13, 2026
Japan's Nintendo has enjoyed bumper sales for its latest Switch 2 console, but some have called the line-up of new games for the device lackluster.
From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026
He graduated in June 1884 with a lackluster record and set out to find “some favorable location” in which to launch a practice.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
