as in half-baked
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Recent Examples of half-cocked
His paranoia, played with clumsy charm by a mustachioed and bleary-eyed Leonardo DiCaprio, is half-cocked and somewhat comical.
—
David Sims, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2025
That cycle has lasted decades, a past strewn with half-cocked plans, bankruptcies, struggling businesses, recriminations, and a neighborhood that refuses to give up on itself or surrender its personality.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 21 May 2025
And yet, all of a sudden, there was the commotion typical of when a manager walks into a room deep in a stadium as reporters rush to put their phones on the desk and stumble awkwardly, laptops half-cocked, back to their seats.
—James Horncastle, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
The way reason permeated the front offices has bled onto the field, and the players are more reasonable, more rational and not likely to go off half-cocked.
—Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 25 Sep. 2024
David Sims, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2025
That cycle has lasted decades, a past strewn with half-cocked plans, bankruptcies, struggling businesses, recriminations, and a neighborhood that refuses to give up on itself or surrender its personality.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 21 May 2025
And yet, all of a sudden, there was the commotion typical of when a manager walks into a room deep in a stadium as reporters rush to put their phones on the desk and stumble awkwardly, laptops half-cocked, back to their seats.
—James Horncastle, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024
The way reason permeated the front offices has bled onto the field, and the players are more reasonable, more rational and not likely to go off half-cocked.
—Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 25 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for half-cocked
Adjective
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Another half-baked idea: the report proposes that stay-at-home parents be able to access the same child-care subsidies as working parents.—
Abby McCloskey,
Twin Cities,
11 Feb. 2026
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Nevertheless, Hollywood could soon notice an AI backlash that hurts its bottom line so long as studios are pushing it as both a half-baked dramatic theme and a transformative tool.—
Miles Klee,
Wired News,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Ament’s lawyers are now pushing to withdraw his guilty plea, saying he’d been ill-advised by his previous counsel.—
Victoria Le,
Oc Register,
28 Feb. 2026
-
But his goalie interference penalty in the opening period was ill-advised.—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Over a 14-year period from 2012 to 2016, hundreds of thousands of Wells Fargo’s Community Bank employees opened millions of unauthorized or fraudulent accounts and other financial products to meet excessive sales goals.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Mar. 2026
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This has allowed this unauthorized user unfettered access to those frequencies to transmit hateful and threatening messaging, potentially disrupting vital police, fire and EMS communications.—
Andy Sheehan,
CBS News,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Spring break should leave space for slow mornings, spontaneous ice cream stops, and extra time at the pool.—
Abby Price,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Mar. 2026
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And while there was something magical about each of these journeys—because road trips are inherently spontaneous, whimsical, and (well) carefree—one really stood out.—
Kimberly Zapata,
Parents,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, virtual modeling and, albeit to a lesser extent, humanoid robotics are slowly breaking through the uncanny valley — our instinctive distrust of things that look and act almost like human beings but not quite.—
Tim Brinkhof,
Big Think,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Both phenomena act on humanity's instinctive reaction to celestial phenomena.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Half-cocked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/half-cocked. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
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