Advertisement
Advertisement
cold
[ kohld ]
adjective
- having a relatively low temperature; having little or no warmth:
cold water; a cold day.
Synonyms: freezing, frozen, gelid, frigid
Antonyms: hot
- feeling an uncomfortable lack of warmth; chilled:
The skaters were cold.
- having a temperature lower than the normal temperature of the human body:
cold hands.
- lacking in passion, emotion, enthusiasm, ardor, etc.; dispassionate:
cold reason.
Synonyms: uninvolved, imperturbable, unconcerned, cool, indifferent
- not affectionate, cordial, or friendly; unresponsive:
a cold reply; a cold reception.
Synonyms: unsympathetic, hostile, inimical, unfriendly, reserved, formal, polite, heartless, unfeeling, apathetic
- lacking sensual desire:
She remained cold to his advances.
- failing to excite feeling or interest:
the cold precision of his prose.
Synonyms: uninspiring, dull
- unexcitable; imperturbable:
cold impassivity.
Synonyms: deliberate, calm
- depressing; dispiriting:
the cold atmosphere of a hospital waiting room.
- unconscious because of a severe blow, shock, etc.:
I knocked him cold with an uppercut.
- lacking the warmth of life; lifeless:
When the doctor arrived, the body was already cold.
- faint; weak:
The dogs lost the cold scent.
- (in games) distant from the object of search or the correct answer.
Antonyms: warm
- Slang. (in sports and games) not scoring or winning; ineffective:
Cold shooting and poor rebounding were their undoing.
- Art.
- having cool colors, especially muted tones tending toward grayish blue.
- being a cool color.
- slow to absorb heat, as a soil containing a large amount of clay and hence retentive of moisture.
- Metalworking. noting or pertaining to any process involving plastic deformation of a metal at a temperature below that at which recrystallization can occur because of the strain:
cold working.
noun
- the relative absence of heat:
Everyone suffered from the intense cold.
- the sensation produced by loss of heat from the body, as by contact with anything having a lower temperature than that of the body:
He felt the cold of the steel door against his cheek.
- cold weather:
He can't take the cold.
- Also called common cold. a respiratory disorder characterized by sneezing, sore throat, coughing, etc., caused by an allergic reaction or by a viral, bacterial, or mixed infection.
adverb
- with complete competence, thoroughness, or certainty; absolutely:
He learned his speech cold.
- without preparation or prior notice:
She had to play the lead role cold.
- in an abrupt, unceremonious manner:
He quit the job cold.
- Metalworking. at a temperature below that at which recrystallization can occur (sometimes used in combination):
to cold-hammer an iron bar; The wire was drawn cold.
cold
/ kəʊld /
adjective
- having relatively little warmth; of a rather low temperature
cold weather
cold hands
- without sufficient or proper warmth
this meal is cold
- lacking in affection, enthusiasm, or warmth of feeling
a cold manner
- not affected by emotion; objective
cold logic
- dead
- sexually unresponsive or frigid
- lacking in freshness
cold news
a cold scent
- chilling to the spirit; depressing
- (of a colour) having violet, blue, or green predominating; giving no sensation of warmth
- metallurgy denoting or relating to a process in which work-hardening occurs as a result of the plastic deformation of a metal at too low a temperature for annealing to take place
- (of a process) not involving heat, in contrast with traditional methods
cold typesetting
cold technology
- informal.(of a seeker) far from the object of a search
- denoting the contacting of potential customers, voters, etc, without previously approaching them in order to establish their interest
cold mailing
- cold comfortcold comfort little or no comfort
- cold steelcold steel the use of bayonets, knives, etc, in combat
- from coldfrom cold without advance notice; without giving preparatory information
- in cold bloodin cold blood showing no passion; deliberately; ruthlessly
- leave someone cold informal.leave someone cold to fail to excite someone
the performance left me cold
- throw cold water on informal.throw cold water onpour cold water on to be unenthusiastic about or discourage
noun
- the absence of heat regarded as a positive force
the cold took away our breath
- the sensation caused by loss or lack of heat
- in the cold informal.in the coldout in the cold neglected; ignored
- an acute viral infection of the upper respiratory passages characterized by discharge of watery mucus from the nose, sneezing, etc
- catch a cold slang.catch a cold to make a loss; lose one's investment
adverb
- informal.without preparation
he played his part cold
- informal.thoroughly; absolutely
she turned him down cold
Discover More
Derived Forms
- ˈcoldly, adverb
- ˈcoldness, noun
- ˈcoldish, adjective
Discover More
Other Words From
- coldish adjective
- coldly adverb
- coldness noun
- over·cold adjective
- over·coldly adverb
Discover More
Word History and Origins
Discover More
Word History and Origins
Origin of cold1
Discover More
Idioms and Phrases
- catch / take cold, to get or suffer from a cold:
We all caught cold during that dreadful winter.
- go cold, Slang. (in sports and games) to become unproductive or ineffective; be unable to score.
- in from the cold, out of a position or condition of exile, concealment, isolation, or alienation:
Since the new government promised amnesty, fugitive rebels are coming in from the cold.
- left out in the cold, neglected; ignored; forgotten: Also out in the cold.
After the baby came, the young husband felt left out in the cold.
- throw cold water on, to disparage; disapprove of; dampen the enthusiasm of:
They threw cold water on her hopes to take acting classes.
- in cold blood. blood ( def 20 ).
More idioms and phrases containing cold
- blow hot and cold
- catch cold
- come in from the cold
- in a cold sweat
- in cold blood
- in cold storage
- in the cold light of day
- knock out (cold)
- leave one cold
- make one's blood run cold
- out cold
- out in the cold
- pour cold water on
- stone cold
- stop cold
Discover More
Synonym Study
Discover More
Example Sentences
This is comedy based on a cold humor, detached, euphemistic, devoid of any generosity.
We indulge in expensive cold-pressed juices and SoulCycle classes, justifying these purchases as investments in our health.
Cold War fears could be manipulated through misleading art to attract readers to daunting material.
The vaccine is delivered through a “carrier virus” that causes a common cold in chimpanzees but does not affect humans.
Accusing his opponents of being locked in a Cold War mind-set, it is Stone who is beholden to old orthodoxies.
Madame de Condillac stood watching him, her face composed, her glance cold.
Being quieted by the Captain with a draught of cold tea, and made to sit down, the examination of the book proceeded.
When alone she sometimes picked it up and kissed the cold glass passionately.
Such throats are trying, are they not?In case one catches cold; Ah, yes!
Turn we our backs to the cold gloomy north, to the wet windy west, to the dry parching east—on to the south!
Advertisement
Word of the Day
[pet-ri-kawr]
Meaning and examplesStart each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!
By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse