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lukewarm love

lukewarm

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Mildly warm; tepid.
  • adjective Lacking conviction or enthusiasm; indifferent.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Only moderately warm; tepid; neither cold nor hot.
  • Not ardent; not zealous; cool; indifferent: as, lukewarm obedience.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Moderately warm; neither cold nor hot; tepid.
  • adjective Not ardent; not zealous; cool; indifferent.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of a temperature between warm and cool.
  • adjective Not very enthusiastic (about a proposal or an idea).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective moderately warm
  • adjective feeling or showing little interest or enthusiasm

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English leukwarm : leuk, luke (possibly alteration of leu, from Old English hlēow; see kelə- in Indo-European roots) + warm, warm; see warm.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English lukewarme ("lukewarm, tepid"), equivalent to luke (“lukewarm”) +‎ warm. First element believed to be an alteration of Middle English lew ("tepid"), from Old English hlēow ("warm, sunny"), from Proto-Germanic *hliwjaz, *hlēwaz, *hlūmaz, *hleumaz (“warm”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱal(w)e-, *ḱel(w)e-, *k(')lēw- (“warm, hot”). Cognate with Dutch lauw ("tepid"), German lauwarm ("lukewarm"), Faroese lýggjur ("warm"), Swedish ljum ("lukewarm"), ljummen ("lukewarm") and ly ("warm"), Danish lummer ("muggy"), Danish and Norwegian lunken ("tepid"), Swedish dialectal ljummen ("lukwarm").

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Examples

  • Soda, etc, that comes home lukewarm from the grocery store stays in the cold garage overnight rather than going into the fridge.

    Make Your Refrigerator Far More Efficient | Lifehacker Australia 2009

  • ONE thing that CAN be a problem … long ago they used more silicon-release agent on the molds, so the model needs a wash in lukewarm water and mild dish-soap prior to painting to ensure good paint adhesion.

    Model Vintage | SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles 2009

  • Just dip in lukewarm water and bring to the wall each sequentially numbered panel.

    Comic Shelves by Oscar Nunez 2009

  • I agree with Karen (#1) that the studio-mandated limits and prices will cause this to gain lukewarm acceptance.

    Can Apple Jump-Start Internet Movie Rentals? - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • Perhaps lukewarm is to teens today what shit-hot or cool as a cucumber was to teens of yore.

    Two Cheers for Hypocrisy P. J. O'Rourke 2006

  • Perhaps lukewarm is to teens today what shit-hot or cool as a cucumber was to teens of yore.

    Two Cheers for Hypocrisy P. J. O'Rourke 2006

  • Perhaps lukewarm is to teens today what shit-hot or cool as a cucumber was to teens of yore.

    Two Cheers for Hypocrisy P. J. O'Rourke 2006

  • My captive audiences smile and nod in lukewarm approval.

    Crime may pay 2006

  • Sadly, following the instructions, more or less to the letter, resulted in lukewarm Salada teabag tea with chunky lemon wedges, tan Wonder Bread spread with margarine, and, of course, shiny sinks.

    Toast: Lindy 2005

  • Sadly, following the instructions, more or less to the letter, resulted in lukewarm Salada teabag tea with chunky lemon wedges, tan Wonder Bread spread with margarine, and, of course, shiny sinks.

    Tea and Toast Part I: Home Ec Lindy 2005

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