lackluster

[lak-luhs-ter]

See more synonyms for lackluster on Thesaurus.com

adjective

lacking brilliance or radiance; dull: lackluster eyes.
lacking liveliness, vitality, spirit, or enthusiasm: a lackluster performance.

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noun

a lack of brilliance or vitality.

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Also especially British, lack·lus·tre.

Origin of lackluster

First recorded in 1590–1600; lack + luster¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for lackluster

Contemporary Examples

Paris as depicted by contemporary photography appears… lackluster.
A History of Paris in 150 Photographs
Sarah Moroz
December 14, 2014
Many jazz fans were puzzled by this finding, which seems incompatible with the lackluster sales figures in the genre.
Jazz (The Music of Coffee and Donuts) Has Respect, But It Needs Love
Ted Gioia
June 15, 2014
“The Break Up” was as satisfying of an ending as possible given the lackluster season.
I Watched ‘Psych’ For 8 Years and All I Got Was This Lackluster Finale
Chancellor Agard
March 27, 2014
Your chef is stuck in a creative rut, churning out lackluster food in a lackluster—albeit popular—restaurant.
Jon Favreau On the Food Porn-y ‘Chef,’ ‘The Jungle Book,’ and Why He Left the ‘Iron Man’ Franchise
Marlow Stern
March 9, 2014
Her move to regain control of the Occupy feed seems to have been due to frustration with the lackluster state of the revolution.
The Champagne Tranarchist Who Hijacked Occupy’s Twitter Feed
Nina Strochlic
February 15, 2014

Historical Examples

They looked at us from their doors with lackluster eyes and apparent indifference.
Average Americans
Theodore Roosevelt
Her son regarded her with lackluster eyes when she returned.
The Broken Gate
Emerson Hough
Sandpaper this lightly with No. 00 paper when the stain has thoroughly dried, and put on a coat of lackluster or an equivalent.
Mission Furniture
H. H. Windsor
Willard gazed through the window with lackluster eyes and shook his head feebly.
Left Half Harmon
Ralph Henry Barbour
"I have nothing to tell her," said George—he raised two lackluster eyes and fixed them with a sort of dull stare on Lawson's face.
A Girl in Ten Thousand
L. T. Meade

Word Origin and History for lackluster

adj.

also lack-luster, c.1600, first attested in "As You Like It," from lack + luster. Combinations with lack- were frequent in 16c., e.g. lackland (1590s), of a landless man; lack-Latin (1530s), of an ignorant priest.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper