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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
See all Example Sentences for lackluster 
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.
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“Lackluster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lackluster. Accessed 4 May. 2024.
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lackluster
adjective
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