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halfhearted

[ haf-hahr-tid, hahf- ]

/ ˈhæfˈhɑr tɪd, ˈhɑf- /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR halfhearted ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

having or showing little enthusiasm: a halfhearted attempt to work.

Origin of halfhearted

First recorded in 1605–15; half + heart + -ed³

SYNONYMS FOR halfhearted

indifferent, uninterested, cold, cool, perfunctory.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR halfhearted ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR halfhearted

enthusiastic.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR halfhearted ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM halfhearted

half·heart·ed·ly, adverb half·heart·ed·ness, noun

Words nearby halfhearted

half-wit, half-witted, half-year, halfback, halfbeak, halfhearted, halfhourly, halfies, halfmoon, halfpenny, halfpennyworth

Example sentences from the Web for half-hearted

Then there were those songs that were either too half-baked or half-hearted to even fool us into turning them into smash hits.

Can Jessie J’s ‘Bang Bang’ Save Us From This Awful Musical Summer? |Kevin Fallon |July 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Your query will be answered with a blank stare, followed by a long pause and half-hearted reply: My accountant?

Simon Kinberg on ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past,’ ‘The Fantastic Four’ Reboot, and Black Superheroes |Marlow Stern |May 25, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
So, in “The Runaways,” Don engages in a half-hearted ménage-a-trois AND outsmarts his frenemies.

Mad Men’s ‘The Runaways’: Three-Way Sex and Self-Mutilation in the Craziest Episode Yet |Marlow Stern |May 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The early scandal, but really it was a blip of gossip with half-hearted twangs, was that Sonja had a younger beau.

Betrayal, Blowjobs, and Bitchery: the 'Real Housewives' Get Really Desperate |Tim Teeman |March 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

The crowd on the floor responded with a half-hearted murmur of assent.

Egypt’s Government Thugs Beat Me Up at the Rabaa Sit-In |Mike Giglio |August 14, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
It was clear that menace and outrage would not move him, and that more was wanted than the half-hearted measures of the Gironde.

Lectures on the French Revolution |John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton
Maitland went forth into the thick night: a half-hearted London thaw was filling the shivering air with a damp brown fog.

The Mark Of Cain |Andrew Lang
At any rate, I got only a half-hearted consent from her that I might start.

Up From Slavery: An Autobiography |Booker T. Washington
This half-hearted defence gave courage to those who took the high ground that the time for lynching had gone by.

The Captain of the Gray-Horse Troop |Hamlin Garland
Nothing came from the balcony, wherein Helen's sweet voice wandered, save a faint, half-hearted hand-clapping.

The Light of the Star |Hamlin Garland

British Dictionary definitions for half-hearted

half-hearted

adjective

without enthusiasm or determination

Derived forms of half-hearted

half-heartedly, adverb half-heartedness, noun