“Lackluster” or “Lacklustre”—What's the difference?

Usage by country

Where each spelling is used

Of the 12 countries below, 8 prefer “lackluster” and 2 prefer “lacklustre”. Usage levels are out of 100; the more common spelling in each country is in bold.

Usage level out of 100 (if available).
Country	lackluster	lacklustre	Preference
United States	98	2	“lackluster”
United Kingdom	47	53	“lacklustre”
India	63	37	“lackluster”
Philippines	96	4	“lackluster”
Canada	79	21	“lackluster”
Australia	44	56	“lacklustre”
Liberia	0	0	Not enough data
Ireland	56	44	“lackluster”
New Zealand	53	47	“lackluster”
Jamaica	100	0	“lackluster”
Trinidad & Tobago	100	0	“lackluster”
Guyana	0	0	Not enough data

Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“lackluster”

…to update and otherwise revitalize lackluster Korean military resources, they were…
Following the lackluster commercial performance of previous single…
Sales were lackluster and the development suffered a…
…1994, on Saturdays at 8/7c, lackluster ratings prompted NBC to pull…
…with reviewers calling his performance "lackluster" and "wasted".
…said the song had a "lackluster appeal", which Wayne makes fade…
…commercial "flop" due to the lackluster commercial performance.
However, KPE's first-day performance was lackluster, trading down 1.7% and trading…
…"comes off as a bit lackluster".
Despite the lackluster reception the episode garnered, several…

“lacklustre”

…the last game of a lacklustre Danish performance.
…wild yams to improve their lacklustre diet, but few Americans could…
…of Commons were widely deemed lacklustre; Johnson later called them "crap".
After a lacklustre start to the 1999 season,…
…sacked as manager after a lacklustre start to the season.
…Great Rock Discography as "sound[ing] lacklustre in comparison" to their earlier
His performance was regarded as lacklustre, taking 1/43 from seven overs.
…the album met with relatively lacklustre success in comparison to its…
…that the adventure itself was "lacklustre and unfortunately screams of being…
…the Netherlands, Hamann produced a lacklustre performance, apparently convincing Klinsmann that…

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license.

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