halfhearted.

Showing little enthusiasm or incomplete willingness to act.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• halfhearted attempt
• halfhearted apology

On the page

His halfhearted apology did not repair the damage.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Comparative more halfhearted; superlative most halfhearted when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.