different between lackluster vs sluggish

English

Alternative forms

• lacklustre (UK & Commonwealth)

Etymology

From lack +? luster.

Pronunciation

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.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:bore

Translations

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

English

Etymology

slug +? -ish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sl????/

Adjective

sluggish (comparative sluggisher or more sluggish, superlative sluggishest or most sluggish)

1. Habitually idle and lazy; slothful; dull; inactive

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:lazy

   • c. 1874, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ovid in Exile

     And the sluggish land slumbers in utter neglect.
2. Slow; having little motion.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:slow

   Antonym: nimble

   • 1913, Paul Laurence Dunbar, At Sunset Time

     We float upon a sluggish stream,

     We ride no rapids mad,

     While life is all a tempered dream

     And every joy half sad.

3. Having no power to move oneself or itself; inert.
   • 1695, John Woodward, An Essay toward a Natural History of the Earth and Terrestrial Bodies

     Matter, being impotent, sluggish, and inactive, hath no power to stir or move itself.

4. Characteristic of a sluggard; dull; stupid; tame; simple.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:stupid

5. Exhibiting economic decline, inactivity, slow or subnormal growth.

Derived terms

Translations