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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
Fred Imbert, CNBC, 22 Apr. 2025
While no one in the Motor City or Windy City was shocked by another lackluster season on the ice, the Rangers and Bruins were expected to be playoff teams.
—Larry Lage, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
While the offense has been great, the pitching has been lackluster at best.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
The Dell landed at the back of an already lackluster pack.
—PC Magazine, 13 Apr. 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 29 Apr. 2025.
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lackluster
adjective
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