half-hearted
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
- half-heartedly adverb
- half-heartedness noun
Explanation
Use the adjective half-hearted to describe someone whose heart is not really in what they are doing. If you're a half-hearted member of your school marching band, you're not very excited about playing your tuba during halftime at football games. You might show up for awkward family dinners with your strange cousins, but you don't look forward to it and you can't wait until it's over. You're a half-hearted participant, and when your weird relatives leave, you probably give a half-hearted wave goodbye. The word can also be spelled "halfhearted."
Vocabulary lists containing half-hearted
Idioms and Expressions, List 3
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Eleven
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You Bring the Distant Near
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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.
“You start to wonder how many times they can sell us exactly the same half-hearted commitment,” added Levin, who is now a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
From Salon • Nov. 5, 2025
In a two-star review, the Telegraph's Robbie Collin called it a "nefariously lazy" adaptation that is little more than a "half-hearted parody of a whodunnit".
From BBC • Aug. 24, 2025
This half-hearted interest in naturalism hurts more than helps.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2025
A half-hearted fan protest before and during last weekend's 2-0 loss by Arsenal at the King Power Stadium underlined the struggle to mount a consistent revolt.
From BBC • Feb. 21, 2025
She sat up and took a half-hearted bite of her day meal.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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.
