From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhalf-heartedhalf-heart‧ed /ˌhɑːf ˈhɑːtɪd◂ $ ˌhæf ˈhɑːr-/ ●○○ adjective ENTHUSIASTIC#done without much effort and without much interest in the result Congress has made half-hearted attempts at finance reform. —half-heartedly adverb
Examples from the Corpus
half-hearted• Her apology was very half-hearted.• Discs' efforts in this direction have been decidedly half-hearted.• Their criticism, however, was half-hearted.• There was a half-hearted and unconvincing attempt to justify fins.• People are starting to criticize the government for its half-hearted approach to reform.• Yves had made a half-hearted attempt to be friendly.• I'd only mentioned sheep in a half-hearted attempt to change the subject of conversation.• Later in the film, another teammate executes a half-hearted attempt to pull her aboard a fast-moving boat, leaving her behind.• A re-check should never be necessary, since this only implies the acceptance of a half-hearted check in the first place.• We're also wondering why the university is now covering its butt legally with this half-hearted gesture.• When I threw a half-hearted punch in his general direction, he knocked me down. 