Chill — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun adjective verb /ˈchil/

Meaning & Definition of Chill

Chill (noun)

  1. a sensation of cold accompanied by shivering (as due to illness) —usually plural
  2. an intense shivery sensation, shiver, shudder; especially, one caused by a strong emotion (such as fear) —often plural
  3. a disagreeable sensation of coldness

Chill (adjective)

  1. moderately cold
  2. cold, raw
  3. affected by cold

Chill (verb)

  1. to become cold
  2. to shiver or quake with or as if with cold
  3. to become taken with a chill

Chill (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. lacking in friendliness or warmth of feeling

    "were met with a chill gaze when they arrived home late from the party"

    similar: antiseptic, arctic, brittle, chilly, clammy, cold, cold-blooded, cold-eyed, coldish, cool, frigid, frosty, frozen, gelid, glacial, hard-eyed, icy, uncordial, unfriendly, unsympathetic, wintry
    related: bloodless, coldhearted, hard-hearted, heartless, kindless, pitiless, uncaring, unfeeling, reserved, soulless, undemonstrative, unemotional, unresponsive, apathetic, indifferent, unenthusiastic, uninterested, aloof, detached, dispassionate, impersonal, offish, standoffish, antisocial, unsociable, unsocial
    opposite: cordial, friendly, genial, happy, hearty, sympathetic, warm, warm-blooded, warmhearted
    near: compassionate, kind, kindhearted, demonstrative, emotional, expressive, eager, enthusiastic, passionate

  2. uncomfortably cool

    "this chill weather is making my teeth chatter"

    similar: bitter, bleak, chilling, chilly, nipping, nippy, raw, sharp
    related: bracing, brisk, crisp, invigorating, rigorous, snappy, arctic, cold, coolish, freezing, frigid, frosty, glacial, ice-cold, icy, numbing, polar, shivery, wintry, subfreezing, subzero, frore, frosted, frozen, iced, refrigerated, unheated
    near: balmy, warm, lukewarm, tepid, heated, warmed

  3. having a low or subnormal temperature

    "no one should be coatless on a chill night as this"

    similar: algid, arctic, bitter, bone-chilling, chilly, cold, coldish, cool, coolish, freezing, frigid, frosty, gelid, glacial, ice-cold, icy, nipping, nippy, numbing, polar, shivery, snappy, wintry
    related: cryogenic, subfreezing, subzero, ultracold, cutting, keen, penetrating, piercing, sharp, bracing, brisk, crisp, invigorating, rigorous, chilled, cooled, frosted, frozen, iced, refrigerated, unheated
    opposite: ardent, blazing, boiling, broiling, burning, fervent, fervid, fiery, glowing, hot, igneous, molten, piping hot, red-hot, roasting, scalding, scorching, searing, seething, sizzling, sultry, sweltering, torrid, ultrahot, warming, white-hot
    near: lukewarm, tepid, heated, overheated, reheated, warmed, snug, toasty, warm, feverish, flushed, inflamed, canicular, equatorial, muggy, steamy, summery, tropical

  4. causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer

    "the house's design may be cutting-edge, but it has a chill sterility about it that is anything but homey"

    similar: black, bleak, cheerless, Cimmerian, cloudy, cold, comfortless, dark, darkening, depressing, depressive, desolate, dire, disconsolate, dismal, drear, dreary, dreich (chiefly Scottish), elegiac, forlorn, funereal, gloomy, glum, godforsaken, gray, lonely, lonesome, lugubrious, miserable, morbid, morose, murky, plutonian, saturnine, sepulchral, solemn, somber, sullen, sunless, tenebrific, tenebrous, wretched
    related: blue, dejected, depressed, despondent, down, droopy, hangdog, inconsolable, low, melancholic, melancholy, mirthless, sad, unhappy, woebegone, woeful, dim, discomfiting, discouraging, disheartening, dismaying, dispiriting, distressful, distressing, upsetting, desperate, hopeless, pessimistic, lamentable, mournful, plaintive, sorrowful, colorless, drab, dull, dour, grim, lowering, lowery, menacing, negative, oppressive, threatening
    opposite: bright, cheerful, cheering, cheery, comforting, cordial, festive, friendly, gay, heartwarming, sunshiny
    near: blithe, blithesome, buoyant, gay, jocund, jolly, joyful, joyous, merry, mirthful, encouraging, hopeful, optimistic, lighthearted, lightsome

Chill (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. an uncomfortable degree of coolness

    "there's a chill in the air, so you'd better wear a sweater"

    similar: bite, bitterness, bleakness, chilliness, nip, nippiness, rawness, sharpness
    related: briskness, crispness, coldness, frigidity, frigidness, frostiness, gelidity, iciness, wintriness, cold, freeze, snap
    near: balminess, warmness, warmth, heat, hotness, sultriness

Chill (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to cause to lose heat

    "chill the gelatin for two hours, until it sets"

    similar: cool, refrigerate
    related: air-condition, freeze, frost, ice, quick-freeze, supercool, ventilate
    opposite: heat, toast, warm
    near: bake, boil, broil, steam, heat-treat, temper, microwave

  2. to get rid of nervous tension or anxiety

    "you want to hang out with us and just chill this weekend?"

    similar: chill out (slang), de-stress, decompress, loosen up, mellow (out), relax, unwind, wind down, hang loose
    related: unbend, bask, kick back, loll, lounge, repose, rest, bum, dally, dawdle, dillydally, drone, footle, goof (off), hack (around), hang (around or out), idle, laze, loaf, vegetate, veg out, zone out, alleviate, comfort, ease, relieve, calm, compose, cool, quiet, settle
    opposite: tense (up)

  3. to lessen the courage or confidence of

    "investors chilled by the floundering economy"

    similar: daunt, demoralize, discourage, dishearten, dismay, dispirit, frustrate, unman, unnerve, throw cold water on
    related: browbeat, bully, cow, intimidate, depress, sadden, weigh, afflict, try, damp, dampen, deaden, distress, trouble, bother, irk, vex, worry, debilitate, enfeeble, undermine, weaken, frighten, horrify, scare
    opposite: embolden, encourage, hearten, nerve, steel
    near: buoy (up), cheer, gladden, animate, enliven, invigorate, enforce, fortify, reinforce, strengthen, assure, reassure, boost, energize, excite, galvanize, inspire, lift, provoke, quicken, rally, stimulate, stir

  4. to spend time doing nothing

    "instead of going out tonight, let's stay in and chill"

    similar: bum, dally, dawdle, dillydally, drone, footle, goof (off), hack (around), hang (around or out), hang about (British), idle, kick around, kick back, laze, lazy, loaf, loll, lounge, veg out, kill time, twiddle one's thumbs
    related: fiddle (around), fool, mess, monkey, muck, piddle, play, potter (around), putter (around), trifle, doze, estivate, hibernate, lag, linger, loiter, poke, relax, rest, tarry, amble, mosey, saunter, stroll, swan, furlough, goldbrick, malinger, truant
    near: drudge, grind, grub, hump, hustle, labor, moil, peg, plod, plow, plug, slave, sweat, toil, travail, work, apply, buckle (down), exert, put out

Related Entry: Chill out (verb)

Chill out is a different word from Chill. The synonyms below are for chill out, not for chill.

  1. to become still and orderly

    "stop making that racket, and just chill out!"

    similar: calm (down), cool, hush, pipe down, quiet, settle (down), cool it
    related: dry up, relax, tranquilize, unwind, zone out
    opposite: act up, carry on, cut up
    near: clown (around), fool around, horse around, monkey (around), show off, skylark

  2. to get rid of nervous tension or anxiety

    "if you don't chill out, you're going to get an ulcer"

    similar: chill, de-stress, decompress, loosen up, mellow (out), relax, unwind, wind down, hang loose
    related: unbend, bask, kick back, loll, lounge, repose, rest, bum, dally, dawdle, dillydally, drone, footle, goof (off), hack (around), hang (around or out), idle, laze, loaf, vegetate, veg out, zone out, alleviate, comfort, ease, relieve, calm, compose, cool, quiet, settle
    opposite: tense (up)

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Chill

The most common words with a similar meaning to Chill:

Chiefly Scottish: dreich
Slang: chill out
British: hang about
antiseptic, arctic, brittle, chilly, clammy, cold, cold-blooded, cold-eyed, coldish, cool, frigid, frosty, frozen, gelid, glacial, hard-eyed, icy, uncordial, unfriendly, unsympathetic, wintry, bitter, bleak, chilling, nipping, nippy, raw, sharp, algid, bone-chilling, coolish, freezing, ice-cold, numbing, polar, shivery, snappy, black, cheerless, Cimmerian

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Chill

Words with the opposite meaning of Chill:

cordial, friendly, genial, happy, hearty, sympathetic, warm, warm-blooded, warmhearted, ardent, blazing, boiling, broiling, burning, fervent, fervid, fiery, glowing, hot, igneous, molten, piping hot, red-hot, roasting, scalding, scorching, searing, seething, sizzling, sultry

Related Words for Chill

bloodless, coldhearted, hard-hearted, heartless, kindless, pitiless, uncaring, unfeeling, reserved, soulless, undemonstrative, unemotional, unresponsive, apathetic, indifferent, unenthusiastic, uninterested, aloof, detached, dispassionate, impersonal, offish, standoffish, antisocial, unsociable, unsocial, bracing, brisk, crisp, invigorating

Near Antonyms of Chill

compassionate, kind, kindhearted, demonstrative, emotional, expressive, eager, enthusiastic, passionate, balmy, lukewarm, tepid, heated, warmed, overheated, reheated, snug, toasty, feverish, flushed, inflamed, canicular, equatorial, muggy, steamy, summery, tropical, blithe, blithesome, buoyant

Word Forms of Chill

Inflections: chiller, chillest, chilled, chilling, chills

Derived words: chillness (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Chill

Middle English chile chill, frost, from Old English ciele; akin to Old English ceald cold

First known use: 1601

Words & Phrases Containing Chill

chill factor, chill out, take the chill off, prechill, windchill, a chill/shiver runs up/down someone's spine, make a chill/shiver run up/down someone's spine

Frequently Asked Questions about Chill

What does "Chill" mean?

"Chill" means a sensation of cold accompanied by shivering (as due to illness) —usually plural. As an a noun, an adjective and a verb, it is defined as: a sensation of cold accompanied by shivering (as due to illness) —usually plural. It has 9 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Chill"?

Other words for "Chill" include antiseptic, arctic, brittle, chilly, clammy, cold, cold-blooded and cold-eyed. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Chill" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Chill"?

There are 298 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Chill". Common alternatives include antiseptic, arctic, brittle, chilly, clammy, cold, cold-blooded, cold-eyed, coldish and cool.

What is the opposite of "Chill"?

Antonyms of "Chill" include cordial, friendly, genial, happy, hearty, sympathetic, warm and warm-blooded. Near antonyms include compassionate, kind, kindhearted and demonstrative.

How do you use "Chill" in a sentence?

Examples of "Chill" in a sentence: "were met with a chill gaze when they arrived home late from the party"; "this chill weather is making my teeth chatter"; "no one should be coatless on a chill night as this".

Is "Chill" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Chill" can be used as a noun, an adjective and a verb, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Chill"?

"Chill" is pronounced /ˈchil/.

What is the origin of the word "Chill"?

"Chill" comes from Middle English chile chill, frost, from Old English ciele; akin to Old English ceald cold. First known use: 1601.