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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. adj. Moderately warm; lukewarm.
  2. adj. Lacking in emotional warmth or enthusiasm; halfhearted: "the tepid conservatism of the fifties” ( Irving Howe).

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. Moderately warm; lukewarm.

Wiktionary

  1. adj. Lukewarm; neither warm nor cool.
  2. adj. Uninterested; exhibiting little passion or eagerness.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. adj. Moderately warm; lukewarm.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. moderately warm
  2. adj. feeling or showing little interest or enthusiasm

Etymologies

  1. Middle English, from Latin tepidus, from tepēre, to be lukewarm.

Examples

  • “Former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite, also took a stab at what he called a tepid U.S. response to the unrest against the tiny island's Sunni monarchy.”

    The Seattle Times

  • “I haven't read this, but I did read Esslemont's Night of Knives and I thought it was a bit meh, so I am not surprised that "tepid" is the one word applied to this volume.”

    Ian Cameron Esslemont - Return of the Crimson Guard (Book Review)

  • “Given the long-term tepid outlook for the world economy, is the near-future the right time to force those costs down consumers' throats?”

    The Huffington Post: Steve Parker: EPA Rates Volt and Leaf: What's Your Choice?

  • “And from its crimson source in tepid channels flow.”

    Poems, by Mrs. M. Robinson

  • “Beneath this window is a broad divan, and here, laved in tepid sea winds and soothed by rippling whispers against the ship's side, I sleep – the langorous, voluptuous sleep of the tropics; ... sink softly into that dim warm flood where one lies drenched, submerged in unconsciousness; a flood that ebbs slowly, slowly – bearing with it all fatigue and satiety – and leaves me on the shores of life again in a pale lilac dusk glimmering with great stars ....”

    In Seven Stages: A Flying Trip Around the World

  • “These good global numbers hide, however, a more complex reality, namely a tepid recovery in many advanced economies, and a much stronger one in most emerging and developing economies.”

    The Huffington Post: World Faces Serious New Economic Challenges

  • “BLITZER: President Obama is now using the toughest language yet to condemn Iran's crackdown on political protesters after a week of what his critics called a tepid response.”

    CNN Transcript Jun 23, 2009

  • “That said, even as a conservative, I believe my bias towards John Tory could have been most charitably described as tepid I did not support him for leader, and as recently as two weeks ago I was not very impressed.”

    Archive 2007-09-01

  • “So, White House Spokesman Gordon Johndroe is saying the President feels that his so-called tepid endorsement of Maliki was misreported, and that he wants to make clear today that he's fully behind Maliki.”

    CNN Transcript Aug 22, 2007

  • “Tom Gullikson, the captain from 1994-99, recalls the tepid response he and the team received after a dramatic win against Russia in 1995 when Sampras won all three of the USA's points in one of the best efforts in Cup history.”

    USATODAY.com - Eight is enough for upstart American team

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Lists

Comments

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  • bilby Can't rule out the metaphorical. May 13, 2009

  • cxkang strictly physical context? May 13, 2009

‘tepid’ has been looked up 2694 times, loved by 9 people, added to 70 lists, commented on 2 times, and has a Scrabble score of 8.