halfhearted C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˌhæfˈhɑrtɪd/ UK /ˌhɑːfˈhɑːtɪd/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj showing little enthusiasm or effort He made a halfhearted attempt to tidy the room before guests arrived. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · showing little enthusiasm... lukewarmunenthusiasticapatheticperfunctorytepidindifferentlistless ↔ Opposites wholeheartedenthusiasticeagerzealousearnest Word family Derived forms halfheartedlyhalfheartedness Etymology AI details A compound of half (Old English healf) and hearted (from heart, Old English heorte), meaning having only half of one's heart in something. heorte Old English healf Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # halfhearted **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˌhæfˈhɑrtɪd/ **IPA (UK):** /ˌhɑːfˈhɑːtɪd/ ## Meanings 1. showing little enthusiasm or effort ## Examples - He made a halfhearted attempt to tidy the room before guests arrived. ## Synonyms - lukewarm - unenthusiastic - apathetic - perfunctory - tepid - indifferent - listless ## Antonyms - wholehearted - enthusiastic - eager - zealous - earnest ## Derived Forms - halfheartedly - halfheartedness ## Roots and Affixes - Root: heorte - Root: healf ## Etymology A compound of half (Old English healf) and hearted (from heart, Old English heorte), meaning having only half of one's heart in something. ## AI Etymology Halfhearted is a compound of half (Old English healf) and hearted (from heart, Old English heorte), meaning having only half of one's heart in something. Important recorded forms include heorte (Old English) and healf (Old English). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers showing little enthusiasm or effort. The wider family includes derived forms such as halfheartedly and halfheartedness. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown