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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
Salama Udaipurwala, JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2024
Its current state is a culmination of many problems—from red tape impeding business to lackluster demand recovery stunting the growth of its key industries.
—Samuel Burke, Fortune Europe, 29 Oct. 2024
While Swift was wrapping up the penultimate run of Eras U.S. shows at the Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday, Kelce was putting up the best numbers of his so-far lackluster seasons as the Chiefs continued their undefeated streak in Las Vegas.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 28 Oct. 2024
Overall, the performance of CLF stock with respect to the index over the last 3-year period has been lackluster.
—Trefis Team, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for lackluster 
Cite this Entry
“Lackluster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lackluster. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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lackluster
adjective
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