lackluster

English

Alternative forms

• lacklustre (UK & Commonwealth)

Etymology

From lack +‎ luster.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

lackluster (comparative more lackluster, superlative most lackluster) (American spelling)

1. Lacking brilliance or intelligence.
2. Having no shine or lustre; dull.
   • 1885, William Dean Howells, The Rise of Silas Lapham, New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1961, Chapter XIX, p. 273,

     He sat looking at her with lack-lustre eyes. The light suddenly came back into them.

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

   The actor gave a lackluster performance in his latest film.

   • 2019 May 19, Alex McLevy, “The final Game Of Thrones brings a pensive but simple meditation about stories (newbies)”, in The A.V. Club‎^[1]:

     It’s fascinating to see a show wrap up in a manner wherein many of the flaws so clearly occur offscreen rather than on; the plague of season eight hasn’t been lackluster episodes, for the most part (though “The Last Of The Starks” was a definite low point).

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:bore

Translations

Having no shine or lustre; dull

• Bulgarian: помътнял (bg) (pomǎtnjal)
• Catalan: deslluït
• Dutch: dof (nl)
• Finnish: kiilloton (fi), samea (fi)
• German: matt (de), glanzlos, farblos (de), lustlos (de)
• Greek: μουντός (el) (mountós)
• Italian: pallido (it), spento (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latvian: blāvs, nespodrs
• Portuguese: desbotado
• Spanish: mate (es), pálido (es)
• Swedish: matt (sv), glanslös
• Turkish: mat (tr), donuk (tr)

Not exceptional; not worthy of special merit, attention, or interest

• Catalan: deslluït
• Finnish: lattea (fi), mitäänsanomaton (fi)
• German: mittelmäßig (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: μουντός (el) (mountós)
• Spanish: mediocre (es) m or f
• Turkish: alelade (tr), sıradan (tr), vasat (tr)

Having no vitality

• Finnish: lattea (fi), mitäänsanomaton (fi)
• German: langweilig (de), müde (de)
• Maori: haumate, memeha, mehameha
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: cansado (es), aburrido (es),
• Turkish: cılız (tr), ölgün (tr), cansız (tr)

Noun

lackluster (countable and uncountable, plural lacklusters) (American spelling)

1. (uncountable) Lack of brightness or points of interest.
2. (countable) A person or thing of no particular brilliance or intelligence.

Anagrams

• lack-lustre, lacklustre