half-listening
One ear only
Half-listening is paying partial attention to what someone is saying while mentally elsewhere—scrolling through your phone, watching television, or lost in thought.
It's enough engagement to catch key words or respond with uh-huh but not enough to retain details: I was half-listening and missed the part about what time to meet.
Losing conscious attention temporarily
- daydreamingIdle mental wandering
- preoccupiedMentally elsewhere, not present
- multitaskingDoing several things concurrently
- scrollingMoving display content vertically
glazed · absent-minded · tuning out · wandering thoughts · background noise · drifting · unfocused · inattentive
Free from personal stakes
- boredLacking interest or engagement
- indifferentLacking interest or concern
- ignoringDeliberately not noticing
- unengagedNot participating or promised
apathetic · brushing off · eye-rolling · impatient · checked out · disregarding · couldn't care less · stone-faced
Simulating what isn't real
- noddingMoving head affirmatively
- uh-huhInformal vocal agreement
- mmhmmHummed yes
- social obligationRequired interpersonal duty
small talk · acquaintance · cocktail party · networking · going along · pleasantries · head tilts
Utterly depleted of energy
- drainedEmptied of resources
- overloadedBurdened past capacity
- stressedOverwhelmed by pressure
- burnt outExhausted from prolonged stress
fatigued · too much · sensory overload · mental fog · depleted · overstimulated · information overload · tuned out
zoning out
Losing conscious attention temporarily
- daydreamingIdle mental wandering
- preoccupiedMentally elsewhere, not present
- multitaskingDoing several things concurrently
scrolling · glazed · absent-minded · tuning out · wandering thoughts · background noise · drifting · unfocused · inattentive · spacing out
disinterested
Free from personal stakes
- boredLacking interest or engagement
- indifferentLacking interest or concern
- ignoringDeliberately not noticing
unengaged · apathetic · brushing off · eye-rolling · impatient · checked out · disregarding · couldn't care less · stone-faced · unresponsive
pretending
Simulating what isn't real
social obligation · small talk · acquaintance · cocktail party · networking · going along · pleasantries · head tilts
exhausted
Utterly depleted of energy
- drainedEmptied of resources
- overloadedBurdened past capacity
- stressedOverwhelmed by pressure
burnt out · fatigued · too much · sensory overload · mental fog · depleted · overstimulated · information overload · tuned out · cognitive fatigue
- listeningattentive, focused attention, full attention, paying attention, heeding
- attentionattention, focus, focused, attentiveness, focused attention
- boredomboredom, ennui, tedium, monotony, dullness
- passive watchingwatching, viewing, observing, spectating, lurking
half-listeningrapt attention
half-listeningactive listening
Focused, responsive attention to speech
half, halves, halved, halving, halfway, halfhearted, listen, listening, listened