Lackluster

//ˈlæklʌstə(ɹ)// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Lack of brightness or points of interest. US, uncountable
  2. 2
    A person or thing of no particular brilliance or intelligence. US, countable
Adjective
  1. 1
    Lacking brilliance or intelligence. US
  2. 2
    Having no shine or lustre; dull. US

    "A faded, and an ancient dragon he was; and 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 gray."

  3. 3
    Not exceptional; not worthy of special merit, attention, or interest; having no vitality. US, figuratively

    "The actor gave a lackluster performance in his latest film."

Adjective
  1. 1
    lacking luster or shine wordnet
  2. 2
    lacking brilliance or vitality wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
dulldullblandcolourlessdimdrowsy

Example

More examples

"Her results last year were lackluster."

Etymology

From lack + luster.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.