tepid

adjective

tep·​id ˈte-pəd 

1

: moderately warm : lukewarm

a tepid bath

2

a

: lacking in passion, force, or zest

tepid poetry

b

: marked by an absence of enthusiasm or conviction

a tepid interest

a tepid response

tepidity

tə-ˈpi-də-tē 

te-

noun

tepidly

ˈte-pəd-lē 

adverb

tepidness noun

Synonyms

• neutral
• lukewarm
• halfhearted
• unenthusiastic

Examples of tepid in a Sentence

He gave a tepid performance.

My suggestion was given a tepid response.

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, the reaction to Wednesday's results could be tepid compared with the past. —Sarah Min, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2025

But the international response was, for the most part, tepid. —Juanita Goebertus, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Aug. 2025

Previous Battlefield releases have simply not understood what the genre is about, and sales have been tepid. —Anshel Sag, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025

BofA cites data from the Atlanta Fed showing that from May through July, wage growth for job-switchers equaled that of job-stayers; the last time this happened was in 2010, during the tepid recovery of the Great Recession. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English teped, from Latin tepidus, from tepēre to be moderately warm; akin to Sanskrit tapati it heats, Old Irish tess heat

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tepid

• intrepid

Kids Definition

tepid

adjective

tep·​id ˈtep-əd 

1

: lukewarm

a tepid bath

2

: lacking enthusiasm or conviction : halfhearted

a tepid response