lukewarm

CEFRC1

/ˌluːkˈwɔːm/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Only slightly warm; not very enthusiastic.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Unenthusiastic (about a proposal or an idea).

Examples

  • Mary likes her coffee steaming hot, while Tom likes his lukewarm.

  • Unfortunately, the soup is only lukewarm.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
3
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˌlukˈwɔɹm/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. Between warm and cool.

More examples

In context

  • The suggestion met with only a lukewarm response.

  • The water is lukewarm.

  • Wash it in lukewarm water.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

After waiting for hours, the bath water was only disappointingly blank, not hot enough for a relaxing soak.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English leukwarm, lukewarm (“lukewarm, tepid”), equivalent to luke (“lukewarm”) + warm. Compare Saterland Frisian luukwoarm (“lukewarm”), German Low German luukwarm (“lukewarm”); first element is related to Dutch leuk (“lukewarm”), as in leukwater (“lukewarm water”). Compare also West Frisian lijwarm (“lukewarm”), Afrikaans louwarm (“lukewarm”), German Low German lowarm, luwarm (“lukewarm”), German lauwarm (“lukewarm”). First element believed to be an alteration of Middle English lew (“tepid”) (> English dialectal lew), from Old English *hlēowe (“warm, sunny”), from Proto-Germanic *hliwjaz, *hlēwaz, *hlūmaz, *hleumaz (“warm”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱal(w)e-, *ḱel(w)e-, *k(')...