Translation of 半ば

Question

I have searched 半ば meaning and translation, but I couldn't find an example that fit in with the sentence that I read on the light novel.

半ば南雲による煽りのようなものだったが、兄貴を追いかけてこの学校に来たはずの堀北が、これまで僅かな時間しか兄と接することが出来ていないのは事実だ。

From jisho.org, 半ば: 1. middle; half; semi; halfway; partly

Then I found an additional info from weblio.jp that might be fit in with the above sentence.

1. ある状態に半分ほどなっているさま。 2. かなりな程度。ほとんど。

So, can I translate the sentence as follow:

"It was almost like a provocation by Nagumo, but in reality Horikita who should have come to this school to follow her brother, had only been able to get in touch with her brother for a short time so far."

Thank you for your kind guidance.

Answer 1

Yes, when 半ば is used as an adverb, its nuance is often close to "almost" rather than 50%. Your translation seems fine. Other examples:

• もう半ば諦めています。
• 彼の本業は芸人だが、普段は半ば作家のような生活をしている。
• 彼の気持ちは半ば決まっていたが、それでも迷いがあった。