variants or less commonly half-ass
1
slang, often vulgar : lacking significance, adequacy, or completeness
… a half-assed attempt at generative semantics. James D. McCawley
Note how they want and get full credit for every little half-ass act of generosity they perform. George Garrett
Several jets were indeed clogged, and it took about five minutes to do a half-assed job of cleaning them out, good enough to get them through until tomorrow and a more thorough cleaning. Richard Russo
2
slang, often vulgar : lacking intelligence, character, or effectiveness
… said that the Administration had no intention of allowing "a bunch of half-assed people to send foreigners into combat." Seymour M. Hersh
… had been beaten up by every half-assed bully all through his miserable childhood … Joseph Wambaugh
half-assed adverb
or less commonly half-ass
slang, often vulgar
It takes most of the day to get the job finished, and we work long after I think we ought to have called it finished, but my father's a perfectionist, and we can't do anything half-assed Stephen Stark
He missed the days when her toenails were half-ass painted, done while they sat together on the couch and watched sitcoms … Thelma Adams

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1932, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of half-assed was circa 1932

Dictionary Entries Near half-assed

Cite this Entry

“Half-assed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/half-assed. Accessed 1 Jan. 2025.

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