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
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
The mold is hand polished to a mirror finish, giving the bumper its lustre.
From Reuters ● Sep. 18, 2023
Then the backgrounds ought to be neither too bright nor too dim, so that the shadows may not obscure the images nor the lustre make them glitter.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Here in the twelfth century the Moors were producing their famous Hispano-Mooresque lustred wares.
From Pottery, for Artists Craftsmen & Teachers by Cox, George J.
Satara, sat′a-ra, n. a ribbed, hot-pressed, and lustred woollen cloth.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
In the course of the 15th century the manufacture of lustred pottery was carried on at various other small towns near Valencia; in 1484 it was produced at Mislata, Paterna and Gesarte.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6 "Celtes, Konrad" to "Ceramics" by Various
O Light that knew no dawn, That shines to endless day, All things in earth and heaven Are lustred by Thy ray; No eye can to Thy throne ascend, Nor mind Thy brightness comprehend.
From Hymns of the Greek Church Translated with Introduction and Notes by Brownlie, John
The earliest dated example of Persian lustred ware is a star-shaped tile of the year a.d.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6 "Celtes, Konrad" to "Ceramics" by Various
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 Robinson, Mary
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 Joly, H. Bencraft
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
"The Major spoils my rose lustring and my orange sack makes the Justice look——" "Like suet," said Betty.
From The Passionate Elopement by MacKenzie, Compton
The material called lutestring was formerly lustring, Fr. lustrine, from its glossiness.
From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Weekley, Ernest
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.
