tepid

[ tep-id ]

/ ˈtɛp ɪd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tepid ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

moderately warm; lukewarm: tepid water.

characterized by a lack of force or enthusiasm: tepid prose; the critics' tepid reception for the new play.

Nearby words

tephrite, tephritic, tephrochronology, tephroite, tepic, tepid, tepidly, tepp, teppan-yaki, tequendama falls, tequila

Origin of tepid

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin tepidus lukewarm, equivalent to tep(ēre) to be lukewarm + -idus -id⁴

SYNONYMS FOR tepid

1 moderate, mild. 2 unemotional, halfhearted, apathetic.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tepid ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

te·pid·i·ty, tep·id·ness, nountep·id·ly, adverbsub·tep·id, adjectivesub·tep·id·ly, adverb

sub·tep·id·ness, nounsub·te·pid·i·ty, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tepid

You expect another shower of tepid excuses, but the mother simply shrugs.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When the show finally premiered, reviews were tepid, at best.
The Failure of ‘Sean Saves the World’ Is Epically Disappointing|Kevin Fallon|January 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A few weeks ago, as I read things, there were occasional and tepid signals that the House would not take up the Senate bill.
Get Ready for More GOP Race Baiting|Michael Tomasky|June 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He has had a tepid relationship with organized labor and left-leaning third party the Working Families Party.
Liberals Slam Andrew Cuomo’s Deals With New York GOP|David Freedlander|December 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST

In a tepid and narrow ruling, the court threw a chicken bone to the petitioners and about 2,000 others.
Don’t Believe the Hype: Supreme Court Decision on Juvenile Life Without Parole Is Weak|David R. Dow|June 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Best with fresh absorbent cotton and tepid water, or a solution of boric acid, two teaspoonfuls to the pint.
The Care and Feeding of Children|L. Emmett Holt
About them circle the entire diocese and the tepid life of a university town.
Egoists|James Huneker
But the chief distinction is that one is tepid, the other frigid as ice.
The Strand Magazine, Volume XXVII, Issue 160, April, 1904|Various
Take three dishes, one of hot water, one of cold, and one of a mixture of the two that shall feel neither warm nor cold but tepid.
Natural Wonders|Edwin Tenney Brewster
He turned on the lights and without waiting to investigate, went into the shower-room and stood under the tepid deluge.
Parrot & Co.|Harold MacGrath

British Dictionary definitions for tepid

tepid

/ (ˈtɛpɪd) /

adjective

slightly warm; lukewarm

relatively unenthusiastic or apatheticthe play had a tepid reception

Derived Formstepidity or tepidness, nountepidly, adverb

Word Origin for tepid

C14: from Latin tepidus, from tepēre to be lukewarm

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

tepid

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of tepid

Examples from the Web for tepid

British Dictionary definitions for tepid

tepid

adjective

Word Origin for tepid