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
For another, there is the feeling that grands prix risk losing their lustre if there are too many.
From BBC ● May 14, 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
The lustred wares of Spain declined late in the thirteenth century, but not before8 its exportation to Italy by way of Majorca had stimulated the production of Italian Majolica.
From Pottery, for Artists Craftsmen & Teachers by Cox, George J.
Sometimes the backs of these dishes are as beautifully lustred as the fronts.
From Pottery, for Artists Craftsmen & Teachers by Cox, George J.
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 Gillespie, George
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
Against his will the phrase said itself over and over again throbbingly behind his eyes, and again he forgot everything in the vision of the lustred pots.
From The Collectors by Mather, Frank Jewett
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 Cox, George J.
One lustring hood was brown; and frequently green ribbons were sent; also many yards of scarlet and pink gauze, which seem the very essence of juvenility.
From Two Centuries of Costume in America, Volume 1 (1620-1820) by Earle, Alice Morse
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 Vizetelly, Ernest Alfred
Conceive it pawed about and handled between the rude jests of tarpaulin ruffians—a thing of its delicate texture—the salt bilge wetting it till it became as vapid as a damaged lustring.
From The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 2 Elia and The Last Essays of Elia by Lamb, Charles
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
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.
