tepid

[ tep-id ]

/ ˈtɛp ɪd /

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adjective

moderately warm; lukewarm: tepid water.

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

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

tephritic, tephrochronology, tephroite, tephromancy, 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 tepidly

Emin seemed pleasant, tepidly confident, and, dare I say, even a tad uncool—but in a good way.
Has Tracey Emin Gone Soft?|Rachel Wolff|November 5, 2009|DAILY BEAST
A grey haze had blotted out the sun and the still air clung about him tepidly.
The Reef|Edith Wharton
Despite her affection for her son, Mrs. Kincaid was but tepidly interested in the career that engrossed him.
The Man Who Was Good|Leonard Merrick
Bors reviewed his actions and could not but approve of them tepidly.
Talents, Incorporated|William Fitzgerald Jenkins

The peculiar moving hush and tepidly stagnant air of a sick-room penetrated even through the panels.
Joan of the Sword Hand|S(amuel) R(utherford) Crockett
"I think Mrs. Varick is sorry to see that you have broken your promise," said Kindelon, shortly and tepidly.
The Adventures of a Widow|Edgar Fawcett

British Dictionary definitions for tepidly

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

Word Origin and History for tepidly

tepid

adj.

c.1400, from Latin tepidus "lukewarm," from tepere "be warm," from PIE root *tep- "warm" (cf. Sanskrit tapati "makes warm, heats, burns," tapah "heat;" Avestan tafnush "fever;" Old Church Slavonic topiti "to warm," teplu "warm;" Old Irish tene "fire;" Welsh tes "heat").