lusterless

English

Alternative forms

• lustreless

Etymology

From luster ‎ -less.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlʌstələs/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlʌstɚləs/

Adjective

lusterless (comparative more lusterless, superlative most lusterless)

1. Without luster, dull, not shiny, flat or matte finished.

   Synonym: lackluster

   • 1844, Edgar Allan Poe, The Premature Burial:

     The lips were of the usual marble pallor. The eyes were lustreless.

   • 1894, George du Maurier, “Part First”, in Trilby: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, →OCLC, pages 11–12:

     His thick, heavy, languid, lustreless black hair fell down behind his ears on to his shoulders, in that musicianlike way that is so offensive to the normal Englishman.

   • 1961, V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas, Vintage International, published 2001, Part Two, Chapter 5:

     His Chevrolet was larger, but old and unwashed; the mudguards had been dented, cut, welded; one door had been ducoed in a lustreless colour that did not exactly match […]

2. Without brilliance, unremarkable.
   • 1967, William Trevor, “Children of the Headmaster”, in Collected Stories, Penguin, published 1992, page 1237:

     The school was a triumph for her husband after a lustreless career in Hong Kong, but it had brought her low.

Anagrams

• lustreless, resultless