Meaning & use

lukewarm

adjective·Academic

Only slightly warm; tepid, or, figuratively, showing little enthusiasm or interest.

See it in a sentence

He pushed away the lukewarm coffee and asked for a fresh, hot cup.

Critics gave the sequel a lukewarm reception, calling it competent but forgettable.

A note on using this word

Lukewarm applies literally to temperature and figuratively to a half-hearted reaction, sharing the sense of being neither one extreme nor the other.

Words with a similar meaning

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Words with an opposite meaning

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