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:
Created by the British company Core Design, the "Tomb Raider" series lost its lustre as the quality of new editions declined over time.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
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
It was the car to be seen in and gave the Jaguar badge a lustre that lasted for decades.
From BBC ● Dec. 7, 2024
No-one can complain about entertainment value in United's return to the Champions League but it rather loses its lustre when you list the five leads they have lost.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 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
"That must have been a very pleasant surprise," observed the bishop, who had small use for lustred ware and lunatics who collected it.
From South Wind by Norman Douglas
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
Before the lustred pots themselves shed a baleful gleam over this narrative, something should obviously be said about Italian wells and why they contain pots.
From The Collectors by Frank Jewett Mather
The policy, then, which in most simple and single, and least lustred with the pomp and bravery of ceremonies, cannot but be most expedient for edification.
From The Works of Mr. George Gillespie (Vol. 1 of 2) by George Gillespie
In spite of its archaic appearance, the Deruta lustred wares are scarcely older than the 16th century, and the style was continued as late as the second half of that century.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6 "Celtes, Konrad" to "Ceramics" by Various
He blushed with delight when he fancied he saw himself in the middle of a large office, with lustring elbow sleeves, and a pen behind his ear.
From Theresa Raquin by Ernest Alfred Vizetelly
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 Alice Morse Earle
The glue and alum for sizing the lustring are not included, so don't bother yourselves about them, but just take the lustring and give it to them outside to size it with alum for you.
From Hung Lou Meng, Book II Or, the Dream of the Red Chamber, a Chinese Novel in Two Books by H. Bencraft Joly
I remember that I wore a nightgown of pale blue lustring, with a chip hat trimmed with ribands of the same colour.
From Beaux and Belles of England Mrs. Mary Robinson, Written by Herself, With the lives of the Duchesses of Gordon and Devonshire by Mary Robinson
The smothering, or reducing, as then practised, was similar to the lustring methods used in Italy in the sixteenth century, or in the manufacture of the blue bricks to-day.
From Pottery, for Artists Craftsmen & Teachers by George J. Cox
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