Pronunciation: /ˈlɪsən wɪð hæf ən ɪr/
noun a word that refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance, or quality
A1 I often listen with half an ear when my mom tells me to clean my room.
A2 During the meeting, I tried to listen with half an ear to the presentation while checking my emails.
B1 As a teacher, it's important to notice when students are listening with half an ear and redirect their attention.
B2 The manager could tell that the employee was only listening with half an ear during the performance review.
C1 In order to truly understand complex issues, one must resist the temptation to listen with half an ear.
C2 The diplomat was skilled at listening with half an ear to conversations in multiple languages simultaneously.
verb a word that expresses an action, occurrence, or state of being
A1 I listen with half an ear when my mom tells me to clean my room.
A2 She listened with half an ear to the teacher's instructions and missed an important detail.
B1 During the meeting, he was listening with half an ear while checking his emails.
B2 The manager listened with half an ear to the employee's complaints, not fully understanding the situation.
C1 As a seasoned negotiator, she could listen with half an ear and still catch all the nuances in the conversation.
C2 Even though he was listening with half an ear, he could still grasp the main points of the complex presentation.
preposition a word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence
A1 I listen with half an ear when my mom tells me to clean my room.
A2 She only listened with half an ear during the lecture, so she missed important information.
B1 The student listened with half an ear to the teacher's explanation, resulting in confusion.
B2 Despite listening with half an ear, he was able to grasp the main points of the conversation.
C1 Even when listening with half an ear, she could still pick up on subtle nuances in the music.
C2 He has a talent for listening with half an ear and still retaining key details in conversations.
article a word that is used to indicate whether a noun is specific or unspecific
A1 Sometimes I listen with half an ear when my mom tells me to clean my room.
A2 I tend to listen with half an ear during boring meetings at work.
B1 When I'm tired, I find myself listening with half an ear to my teacher's instructions.
B2 During the conference call, I was listening with half an ear while multitasking.
C1 Despite appearing attentive, he was actually listening with half an ear to the speaker.
C2 As a seasoned diplomat, she had mastered the art of listening with half an ear during negotiations.
formal During the lecture, I could only listen with half an ear due to my headache.
informal I was so tired that I could only listen with half an ear during the meeting.
slang I was so zoned out that I could only listen with half an ear in class.
figurative She listened to her friend's complaints with half an ear, not fully paying attention.
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listened with half an ear