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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
Kristin Shaw, Popular Science, 24 Apr. 2024
Tesla, which makes up about 9.45% of Wood’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF and is its second-largest holding, fell more than 50% on Tuesday after reporting lackluster first quarter earnings.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2024
Central banks often lower interest rates to jumpstart lackluster economies, as long as inflation is contained.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2024
Refocusing in Thursday’s regular-season finale with Chicago will help after two lackluster performances at home against Anaheim and Minnesota.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Despite a lackluster lead up to the festival—as evidenced by lower ticket sales, taking a whole month for the tickets to sell out, and a 14-17% dip in sales this year, Billboard reported—this year’s sets have so far drummed up lots of enthusiasm ahead of Coachella Weekend Two.
—Moises Mendez Ii, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
These robust gains come after a lackluster year for energy stocks.
—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
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 29 Apr. 2024.
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lackluster
adjective
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