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Pronunciation varies by accent · adjective
not well-bred; imperfectly trained or ill-acquainted to good manners..
He that is but Half a Philoſopher, is in danger of being an Atheiſt; an Half-Phyſician is apt to turn Empiric; an Half-Bred man is conceited in his Addreſs, and troubleſome in his Converſation.
"Set out eh whiskey. Jimmy, ye bum! Belly the bar, ye half bred scum!
The progeny were tame, worked in yoke, exceeded the ox in strength, and retained the wallowing habit. All the half-bred heifers were fertile, but the half-bred bulls were not. Colonel George C. Thompson, of Shawnee Springs, Ky., concurrently with Mr. Wickliffe's experiment, domesticated a buffalo bull and three buffalo cows; they were thoroughly docile, hardy, and long-lived.
“Captain Alphonse was delighted at this, for we had only half a dozen good seamen on board, the rest of the hands being a lot of half-bred mulattoes and niggers—some of the scourings of South America whom he had picked up at La Guayra, most of whom knew how to handle a cutlass better than a rope—so the proposed addition to the strength of our ship’s company was a very acceptable one, particularly as the ‘Marquis’ pointed out two of his companions as being expert sailors and qualified pilots and navigators.”
On hearing the usual salutation, however, I turned round and saw a lean and withered half-bred Masai, clothed in a very inadequate piece of wildebeeste hide which was merely slipped under the left arm and looped up in a knot over the right shoulder. He stood for a moment with the right hand held out on a level with his shoulder, the fingers extended and the palm turned towards me -- all indicating that he came on a friendly visit
The Leicesters and half-breds are purchased by farmers who keep no breeding stock: they are well turniped during the winter, and clipped and fattened in the following season.
Use half-bred when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Half-bred means not well-bred; imperfectly trained or ill-acquainted to good manners..
Common synonyms include crossbred, half-blooded, half-breed.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
He that is but Half a Philoſopher, is in danger of being an Atheiſt; an Half-Phyſician is apt to turn Empiric; an Half-Bred man is conceited in his Addreſs, and troubleſome in his Converſation.
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