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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
Jeff Marks, CNBC, 18 Dec. 2024
Read: The 10 Best TV Shows of 2024 Mystery series have a long history of posing intriguing questions only to offer lackluster answers.
—Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 18 Dec. 2024
President Joe Biden exited his reelection bid after a lackluster debate performance over the summer, paving the way for Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the Democratic ticket.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 17 Dec. 2024
But Mufasa is a lackluster outing from the songsmith, with no memorable tracks to speak of.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 17 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lackluster 
Cite this Entry
“Lackluster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lackluster. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.
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lackluster
adjective
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