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Lackluster may describe things that are dull, but the word itself is no yawn. In its earliest uses in the early 17th century, lackluster (also spelled lacklustre) usually described eyes that were dull or lacking in brightness, as in “a lackluster stare.” Later, it came to describe other things whose sheen had been removed; Charles Dickens, in his 1844 novel Martin Chuzzlewit, writes of the faded image of the dragon on the sign outside a village alehouse: “many a wintry storm of rain, snow, sleet, and hail, had changed his colour from a gaudy blue to a faint lack-lustre shade of grey.” These days lackluster is broadly used to describe anything blah, from a spiritless sensation to a humdrum hump day.
Examples of lackluster in a Sentence
Krystal Hur, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
Strong economic activity in the United States and emerging markets is projected to help drive global growth by about 3% this year, the International Monetary Fund's chief said Thursday, below the annual historic average and a warning sign about potential lackluster performances through the 2020s.
—Fatima Hussein, Quartz, 11 Apr. 2024
Brokerage revenues also declined last year because of the broader stock market’s lackluster performance.
—Bloomberg, Fortune Asia, 11 Apr. 2024
Strong economic activity in the United States and emerging markets is projected to help drive global growth by about 3% this year, the International Monetary Fund’s chief said Thursday, below the annual historic average and a warning sign about potential lackluster performances through the 2020s.
—Fatima Hussein, Fortune Europe, 11 Apr. 2024
The screen is a bit lackluster, but 12 gigabytes of RAM is plenty at this price.
—Medea Giordano, WIRED, 8 Apr. 2024
Reviews rolled in, and despite the lively atmosphere, critics noted the food was lackluster.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
The series launched its 10-episode season in January to lackluster reviews.
—Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Mar. 2024
Faced with lackluster consumer spending and a property crisis, Beijing continues to double down on investing in high-tech and green manufacturing.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lackluster.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near lackluster
Cite this Entry
“Lackluster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lackluster. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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lackluster
adjective
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