LUSTER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does luster mean? 

• LUSTER (noun)
  The noun LUSTER has 3 senses:

1. a quality that outshines the usual

2. the visual property of something that shines with reflected light

3. a surface coating for ceramics or porcelain

  Familiarity information: LUSTER used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LUSTER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A quality that outshines the usual

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

brilliancy; luster; lustre; splendor; splendour

Hypernyms ("luster" is a kind of...):

brightness (the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The visual property of something that shines with reflected light

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

luster; lustre; sheen; shininess

Hypernyms ("luster" is a kind of...):

effulgence; radiance; radiancy; refulgence; refulgency; shine (the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A surface coating for ceramics or porcelain

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

luster; lustre

Hypernyms ("luster" is a kind of...):

glaze (a coating for ceramics, metal, etc.)

 Context examples 

The hospitable Americans had invited every acquaintance they had in Nice, and having no prejudice against titles, secured a few to add luster to their Christmas ball.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Electropositive chemical elements characterised by ductility, malleability, luster, and conductance of heat and electricity.

(Metal, NCI Thesaurus)

I burnt for the more active life of the world—for the more exciting toils of a literary career—for the destiny of an artist, author, orator; anything rather than that of a priest: yes, the heart of a politician, of a soldier, of a votary of glory, a lover of renown, a luster after power, beat under my curate's surplice.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

An electropositive element that can increase the risk of human cancer and is characterized by ductility, malleability, luster, the ability to conduct heat and electricity and the tendency to lose rather than gain electrons in chemicals.

(Carcinogenic Metal, NCI Thesaurus)