lackluster 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of lacklusternext
as in dulled
not having brightness, brilliance, or vitality a lackluster, dingy Main Street a lackluster performance His writing can be lackluster at times.

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lackluster

2 of 2

noun

as in grayness

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lackluster
Adjective
After ending his college career as an All-American and Big 12 DPOY, the K-Stater has had a lackluster pro career so far. — Pj Green september 24, Kansas City Star, 24 Sep. 2026 The company reshaped fashion in the 1990s and the early 2000s, but has since struggled due to what some say was a lackluster clothing lineup, as well as more intense competition. — ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026 The sportswear industry is in a funk, dragged down by a lackluster market for lifestyle sneakers and apparel. — Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 23 Sep. 2026 Defense answers the call early During the week, TCU head coach Sonny Dykes praised the overall play of his defense, but wanted to see the unit start much faster after lackluster starts against Grambling State and North Carolina. — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for lackluster
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lackluster
  1. dull
  2. grayness
  3. murky
  4. paleness
  5. dark
  6. colorlessness
  7. somber
  8. murkiness
Adjective
  • This is a season so overwhelmingly dull that it’s taken three different gay guys to recap it.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Iñárritu seems to think this visual alone is funny, but that would require getting past the persistently dull and witless writing.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of dull
Noun
  • The pallid grayness of Mike Eley’s cinematography is probably supposed to mimic the finality of HIV/AIDS taking hold, but there’s no passion aesthetically to counterbalance what becomes absolute misery onscreen to watch.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Shraya seems to find comfort within this grayness, and in the autonomy that comes from shifting the question from who is good and who is bad to who is good for me.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026
Definition of grayness
Adjective
  • For indie investors, the pathway to getting their money back gets murkier by the day.
    — Joseph Kahn, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The situation became murkier as French lawyer Suzane Blum took increasing control over the affairs of Simpson, who had become increasingly paranoid and befuddled.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of murky
Noun
  • Some of the symptoms of iron-deficiency anemia include fatigue, weakness and paleness.
    — BestReviews, Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Other symptoms include fatigue, dizziness, paleness, and a rapid heart rate.
    — Peter Pressman, Verywell Health, 9 Dec. 2025
Definition of paleness
Adjective
  • There’s nothing about the white bedding, dark-wood furniture, and tan carpeting that will knock your socks off—but nothing that will make your toes curl, either.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Guadagnino and screenwriter Simon Rich mold the material from dark humor through technocratic giddiness to sobering horror.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of dark
Noun
  • Rising demand for low-iron, seamless glass In the past few decades, low-iron glass, known for its colorlessness, has become the contemporary symbol of high-end architecture.
    — Aki Ishida, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2025
Definition of colorlessness
Adjective
  • Elderly couples surrounded us in somber ceremony, each of them in seats clustered close to one another, some holding hands, their fingers dusted in crumb cake.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Many social media users suggested Pearman may have missed the point of the somber experience of visiting a living memorial where one of history’s greatest atrocities occurred.
    — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of somber
Noun
  • But the murkiness doesn’t last long in a production that achieves an admirable balance between objectivity and emotion, abstraction and representation.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Because of the legal murkiness, Pratte urges people to talk to an attorney before foregoing registration.
    — Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of murkiness

Browse Nearby Words

lacking
lackluster
lacks
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Cite this Entry

“Lackluster.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lackluster. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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