as in tepid
showing little or no interest or enthusiasm
a halfhearted attempt to clean the house before the arrival of the in-laws
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Recent Examples of halfhearted
Alex Bregman was the one who got away, the All-Star third baseman the club tried to sign in spring training with a halfhearted contract proposal that would be rejected.
—
Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2026
The closest Alex and Tess get to a custody battle is a halfhearted chat about who gets the armoire.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2025
Musical theater loves a go-getter, and halfhearted irony just can’t stand up to this much zazz.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
He was used to students skipping the readings or making a halfhearted attempt.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 23 Oct. 2025
At times, Beijing has taken harsh measures toward North Korea—including temporarily suspending oil shipments, restricting Chinese tourism, and applying financial sanctions to the North—although such efforts have typically been short-lived and halfhearted.
—Shuxian Luo, Foreign Affairs, 21 Aug. 2025
Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2026
The closest Alex and Tess get to a custody battle is a halfhearted chat about who gets the armoire.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2025
Musical theater loves a go-getter, and halfhearted irony just can’t stand up to this much zazz.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
He was used to students skipping the readings or making a halfhearted attempt.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 23 Oct. 2025
At times, Beijing has taken harsh measures toward North Korea—including temporarily suspending oil shipments, restricting Chinese tourism, and applying financial sanctions to the North—although such efforts have typically been short-lived and halfhearted.
—Shuxian Luo, Foreign Affairs, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for halfhearted
Adjective
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However, economists have been cautioning that the tepid January for claims was not a sign of a turnaround in the labor market.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
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The reality is that with this setup, the franchise has received mostly tepid responses from fans and critics alike.—
Matthew Razak,
Space.com,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The galaxy also appears to have cleared its surrounding region of primordial hydrogen gas — an unexpected finding, the researchers say, given that the early universe was filled with neutral hydrogen.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
4 Feb. 2026
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And this memo does not read like neutral legal guidance grounded in constitutional clarity.—
Rosalind Osgood,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The administration of President Donald Trump is unenthusiastic about EVs compared the previous Biden administration.—
Bill Koenig,
Forbes.com,
13 Jan. 2026
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Cracker Barrel statement doesn't satisfy naysayers Reactions to the announcement were largely unenthusiastic, with many fans accusing the chain of ignoring their concerns and calling for a return to the old brand design.—
Diana Leyva,
The Tennessean,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In fact, ayurvedic medicine has its own parallel in the form of the ritual usha paana, which involves drinking lukewarm or room-temp water on an empty stomach in the early hours.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
5 Feb. 2026
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Warming up meals in a toaster oven likewise results in uneven heating, with the top portion getting dried or burnt and the middle part ending up lukewarm if the element is located on the top – the reverse is true if the element is on the bottom.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Halfhearted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/halfhearted. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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