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half-assed

[ haf-ast, hahf- ]
/ ˈhæfˈæst, ˈhɑf- /
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adjective Slang: Vulgar.

insufficient or haphazard; not fully planned or developed.
incompetent; lacking sufficient ability or knowledge.

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RELATED WORDS

superficial, offhand, random, perfunctory, sketchy, desultory, brief, careless, fast, half-baked, haphazard, hurried, passing, quick, rapid, shallow, short, slapdash, slight, sloppy

Nearby words

  1. half-a-crown,
  2. half-a-dollar,
  3. half-and-half,
  4. half-arsed,
  5. half-asleep,
  6. half-awake,
  7. half-baked,
  8. half-ball,
  9. half-binding,
  10. half-blind

Origin of half-assed

First recorded in 1960–65; half + ass2 + -ed3
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for half-assed

British Dictionary definitions for half-assed

half-assed

adjective US and Canadian slang

incompetent; inept
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

Word Origin and History for half-assed

half-assed

adj.

"ineffectual," 1932, perhaps a humorous mispronunciation of haphazard.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper