half-baked
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half-baked
- /ˌhɑːfˈbeɪkt/ UK
- /ˌhæfˈbeɪkt/ Canada, US
Where it comes from
The adjective is derived from half- (prefix meaning ‘incomplete, partial’) or half (adverb) + baked (“cooked by baking; (slang) drunk”, adjective).
The noun is derived from adjective sense 1.2 (“of a person: having no common sense or intelligence”).
adjective more half-baked · most half-baked · halfbaked · half baked
- Of a person or thing: incompletely developed or formed; not fully prepared or trained. And idolatrous parents hovv carefull they are to nuzzle vp their Poſterity in Superſtition and Idolatry; I vvould our profeſt Popelings, and halfe-baked Proteſtants, did not let vs ſee but too often.
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Of an idea or scheme; not carefully considered or fully planned; ill-conceived, unsound.
The guy had some half-baked idea for getting rich in the stock market.
Similar: half-assed, half-cocked, dough-baked
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Of a person: having no common sense or intelligence; foolish.
[H]e treated his cousin as a sort of harmless lunatic, and, as they say in Devon, "half-baked."
Similar: asinine, balmy, barmy, bedaft, loony, daft, derpy, dim-headed, dim-witted, dopey, dull-headed, dull-witted · Opposite: astute, clairvoyant, deep, frood, grounded, judicious, oracular, perspicacious, politic, profound, prudent, quick-witted
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Of a person: mildly under the influence of alcohol, a drug, etc.
If you need to talk to John tonight, try to catch him early in the evening, while he’s still only half-baked.
Similar: Adrian Quist, adrip, aled up, all mops and brooms, arseholed, a sheet in the wind, a sheet in the wind's eye, bedrunken, befuddled, beliquored, besotted, besotten · Opposite: clearheaded, dry, on the wagon, sober, sober as a judge, stone-cold sober, undrunken, unintoxicated
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Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: partially cooked by heating in an oven, either as an accidental outcome or as a work in process.
Near-synonyms: (dated) dough-baked, underbaked
Similar: dough-baked, underbaked
noun half-bakeds
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A foolish or stupid person; a fool, an idiot.
Half-bakeds were not lacking. Under this family name, however, stood various genera described in that day's idiom, more often spoken than written—a speech not elegant, but grounded in truth and winged by fancy—as "sap-heads," "un-mit-i-ga-ted ahsses," "pinky-dinkies," "bone-heads," "pin-heads," "nat
Similar: alcatote, asshat, arsehole, asshole, bayard, berk, birdbrain, blither, bobchin, bonehead, bozo, buffoon · Opposite: loremaster, oracle, philosopher, sage, savant
Translations
Every language
adj of a person or thing: incompletely developed or formed; not fully prepared or trained
| Español | faltarle un hervor |
|---|---|
| Français | foireux, fumeux |
| Deutsch | halbgar, unausgegoren |
| Русский | доморо́щенный domoróščennyj, несостоя́тельный nesostojátelʹnyj |
adj partially cooked by heating in an oven
| Deutsch | halbgar |
|---|---|
| Ελληνικά | μισοψημένος misopsiménos |
| Русский | недопечённый nedopečónnyj, полусыро́й polusyrój |
Talk about this word "half-baked." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/half-baked. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. half-baked. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/half-baked "half-baked." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/half-baked.Cite this
@misc{half_baked_2026,
title = {half-baked},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/half-baked},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
