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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
Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 21 Oct. 2025
Another lackluster performance like the one in Week 7 could put Ewers or Wilson in line for Miami's Week 9 game against the Baltimore Ravens.
—Andrew Wright, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025
Florida coach Billy Napier was fired Sunday despite a win over Mississippi State, seven games and four losses into another lackluster season in which the Gators slipped further behind the SEC’s top programs as his methodical build never turned the corner.
—Matt Baker, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
The absences of pass rusher Khalil Mack and linebacker Denzel Perryman have contributed to the Chargers’ lackluster play against the run.
—Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 18 Oct. 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 24 Oct. 2025.
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lackluster
adjective
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