half-cocked

Definition of half-cockednext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for half-cocked
Adjective
  • Asked about a half-baked, eleventh-hour Johnson administration idea for the city to take over the state agency that has overseen stadium financing in Illinois, Pritzker said no one from the mayor’s office had even contacted him about it.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 24 May 2026
  • Waiting until the last minute to force an idea is the surest way to churn out an essay that is half-baked and inauthentic.
    Christopher Rim, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
Adjective
  • Miss Manners does not consider this rude so much as ill-advised.
    Judith Martin, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • However, long-term makeup storage is ill-advised.
    Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 17 June 2026
Adjective
  • Every jurisdiction prohibits the unauthorized practice of law.
    Hamid Kohan, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • DeLaune, of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said parents can be a key line of defense against the proliferation of unauthorized images.
    Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • That's particularly relevant for Americans accustomed to booking spontaneous Europe trips.
    Bailey Berg, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Later, the Moon opposes Uranus in your 5th House of Creativity and Play, bringing a spontaneous idea, romantic spark, or change in personal plans.
    Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 20 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • But there is a place at the next level for an instinctive playmaker like him.
    Dane Brugler, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Partial drafts of his work were carried along with him, soaked in Salinger’s sweat and imbued with his raw, instinctive reactions to conflict.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Half-cocked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/half-cocked. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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