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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
Silas Allen, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Jan. 2025
If the Jets decide to move on from Rodgers, the free agent and draft pool of candidates to replace him with is lackluster.
—Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 27 Jan. 2025
Leaving agencies short staffed resulted in lackluster services and performance.
—Mikenzie Frost, Baltimore Sun, 25 Jan. 2025
Beyond its many plot holes and lackluster plot, the second season saw Reacher team up with his ex-army buddies, which kind of defeats the entire point of Reacher being a one-man army who can take down even the most intimidating foes all by his lonesome.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
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 Feb. 2025.
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lackluster
adjective
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