luster

C2+ Topic:People & Society

Also spelled lustre

US /ˈlʌstɚ/ UK /ˈlʌstə/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a gentle sheen or radiant glow

The pearls had a soft, milky luster.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a gentle sheen or radiant glow sheen gloss shine gleam radiance brilliance glow

Opposites

dullness tarnish

Word family

Derived forms lusterless lustrous

Related forms lustreillustrate lustrate

Etymology

From French lustre, from Italian lustro ('shine, splendor'), from lustrare ('to brighten, illuminate'), from Latin lustrare ('to purify, make bright'), related to lux ('light').

lustre French lustrare Latin *lewk- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

# luster

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈlʌstɚ
**IPA (UK):** ˈlʌstə

## Meanings
1. a gentle sheen or radiant glow

## Examples
- The pearls had a soft, milky luster.

## Synonyms
- sheen
- gloss
- shine
- gleam
- radiance
- brilliance
- glow

## Antonyms
- dullness
- tarnish

## Derived Forms
- lusterless
- lustrous

## Related Forms
- lustre
- illustrate
- lustrate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: lustre
- Root: lustrare
- Root: *lewk-

## Etymology
From French lustre, from Italian lustro ('shine, splendor'), from lustrare ('to brighten, illuminate'), from Latin lustrare ('to purify, make bright'), related to lux ('light').

## AI Etymology
Luster is from French lustre, from Italian lustro ('shine, splendor'), from lustrare ('to brighten, illuminate'), from Latin lustrare ('to purify, make bright'), related to lux ('light'). In present-day use, it means a gentle sheen or radiant glow. Derived formations include lusterless and lustrous. Related vocabulary includes lustre, illustrate, and lustrate.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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luster

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