halfheartedness en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree English halfhearted Proto-Germanic *-in- Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti Proto-Germanic *-ōną Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English halfheartedness From halfhearted + -ness.
Meanings
-
(uncountable) The characteristic of being halfhearted.
But the halfheartedness of his acquiescence is instructive. This is the closest he has ever come to a betrayal — waffling on a cherished myth — despite repeatedly failing to deliver on so much of his supposedly radical political program.
2025 July 20, Matthew Walther, “Sorry, This Epstein Stuff Isn’t Going to Hurt Trump”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 20 Jul 2025:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| half-heartedness | alternative | lexicographic |
Translations (3)
eo duona koreco (characteristic of being halfhearted) · pl brak przekonania (characteristic of being halfhearted) · pl brak entuzjazmu (characteristic of being halfhearted)