half-hearted
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half-hearted
Carried out without full effort, commitment, or conviction. It describes an action that is done with only half the effort or without real interest.
Sein halbherziger Versuch, sich zu entschuldigen, machte alles nur noch schlimmer.
His half-hearted attempt to apologize only made everything worse.
The word is made up of 'halb' (half) and 'Herz' (heart). A 'halbherzige' (half-hearted) action is therefore, figuratively, carried out only 'mit halbem Herzen' (with half a heart), meaning without full commitment.
Er machte nur einen halbherzigen Versuch, ihr zu helfen.
He made only a half-hearted attempt to help her.
This adjective often describes actions or their results. Typical combinations are: 'ein halbherziger Versuch' (a half-hearted attempt), 'eine halbherzige Entschuldigung' (a half-hearted apology), 'ein halbherziger Kompromiss' (a half-hearted compromise), or 'eine halbherzige Zusage' (a half-hearted commitment).
Eine halbherzige Entschuldigung ist manchmal schlimmer als gar keine.
A half-hearted apology is sometimes worse than none at all.
'Halbherzig' (half-heartedly) is very often used as an adverb to describe how an action is carried out. It answers the question 'Wie?' (How?).
Die Mannschaft hat in der zweiten Halbzeit nur noch halbherzig gespielt.
In the second half, the team played only half-heartedly.
committed / engaged
'engagiert' and 'halbherzig' are direct opposites. 'engagiert' means that someone acts with real interest and a lot of effort. 'halbherzig' means that someone does something with little energy, without conviction, or without real interest. When someone is 'engagiert', they make an effort. When someone acts 'halbherzig', they do only what is necessary or seem unmotivated.
Er bereitet sich nur halbherzig auf den Kurs vor und liest die Texte kaum.
He is preparing for the course only half-heartedly and barely reads the texts.
Die Klasse hat engagiert an dem Projekt für die Bibliothek gearbeitet.
The class worked with commitment on the project for the library.