Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

half-assed

American  
[haf-ast, hahf-] / ˈhæfˈæst, ˈhɑf- /

adjective

Slang: Vulgar.

  1. insufficient or haphazard; not fully planned or developed.

  2. incompetent; lacking sufficient ability or knowledge.

half-assed British  

adjective

  1. incompetent; inept

  2. lacking efficiency or organization

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of half-assed

First recorded in 1960–65; half + ass 2 + -ed 3

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"My life is not meant to be lived in misery and half-assed," wrote Aiava, who said 2026 would be her last year on tour.

From Barron's • Feb. 15, 2026

Reichardt is laying bare a privileged man’s half-assed delinquency, especially with O’Connor so hypnotic at conveying self-absorbed cluelessness with his woeful eyes, posture and movement.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2025

Gif: Google While Google’s very late to the party on this one, at least its implementation isn’t half-assed.

From The Verge • May 26, 2022

Rewriting a three-day-old story and appending an awkward, half-assed correction is not even vaguely OK.

From Salon • May 24, 2021

The problem was that Citra was very bad at doing things half-assed.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.