Cold — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective noun adverb /ˈkōld/

Meaning & Definition of Cold

Cold (adjective)

  1. having or being a temperature that is uncomfortably low for humans
  2. having a relatively low temperature or one lower than normal or expected
  3. not heated

Cold (noun)

  1. bodily sensation produced by loss or lack of heat
  2. a condition of low temperature; especially, cold weather
  3. a bodily disorder popularly associated with chilling; specifically, common cold

Cold (adverb)

  1. with utter finality, absolutely, completely; also, abruptly
  2. without introduction or advance notice
  3. without preparation or warm-up

Cold (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. having a low or subnormal temperature

    "the cold climate of the Yukon"

    "an unusually cold spring that was followed by a sweltering summer"

    similar: algid, arctic, bitter, bone-chilling, chill, chilly, 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

  2. lacking in friendliness or warmth of feeling

    "the prisoners got only a cold stare when they tried to befriend the guard"

    similar: antiseptic, arctic, brittle, chill, chilly, clammy, 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

  3. having or showing a lack of friendliness or interest in others

    "received a cold reception from the hostess"

    similar: aloof, antisocial, asocial, buttoned-up, cold-eyed, cool, detached, distant, dry, frosty, offish, remote, standoff, standoffish, unbending, unclubbable, unsociable
    related: indrawn, introverted, nongregarious, recessive, reclusive, reserved, unsocial, withdrawn, misanthropic, apathetic, hard, indifferent, unconcerned, clinical, dispassionate, impersonal, professional, disinterested, incurious, uninterested, reticent, silent, taciturn, uncommunicative, diffident, shy, timid, cliquey, cliquish, clubbish
    opposite: cordial, friendly, sociable, social, warm
    near: boon, clubbable, clubby, companionable, convivial, extroverted, gregarious, outgoing, communicative, expansive, garrulous, talkative, affable, folksy, genial, gracious, hospitable, agreeable, amiable, congenial, kindly, neighborly

  4. having lost consciousness

    "the boxer was out cold for a few minutes"

    similar: insensible, senseless, unconscious
    related: semiconscious, anesthetized, collapsed
    opposite: conscious
    near: alert, awake, aware, up, resuscitated, revived

  5. causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer

    "the couple practiced a cold civility with each other, but they hadn't had a heart-to-heart talk in years"

    similar: black, bleak, cheerless, chill, Cimmerian, cloudy, 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

  6. no longer living

    "paramedics tried to revive him, but he was already cold"

    similar: asleep, breathless, dead, deceased, defunct, demised, departed, fallen, gone, late, lifeless, low, bitten the dust
    related: extinct, dying, fading, moribund, stillborn, finished, lapsed, terminated, inanimate, insensate, nonliving
    opposite: alive, animate, breathing, going, live, living, quick
    near: animated, dynamic, lively, thriving, vibrant, vital, vivacious, active, functioning, operative, running

Cold (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a weather condition marked by low temperatures

    "the cold will stay with us for another day, then temperatures should rise"

    similar: cold wave, deep freeze, freeze, snap
    related: cold front, frost, bite, chill, chilliness, chillness, coldness, frigidness, nip, wintriness
    opposite: heat, heat wave
    near: dog days, torridity, torridness

Cold (adverb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in absolutely, plain

    similar: absolutely, categorically, downright, hands down, plain, stone, stone-cold, unqualifiedly, all, all of, all over, altogether, clean, completely, dead, enough, entire, entirely, even, exactly, fast, flat, full, fully, heartily, out, perfectly, plumb (chiefly dialect), quite, soundly, thoroughly, through and through, totally, utterly, well, wholly, wide, basically, by and large, chiefly, generally, largely, mainly, more or less, mostly, overall, predominantly, predominately, primarily, principally, substantially, abundantly, copiously, generously, greatly
    opposite: half, halfway, incompletely, part, partially, partly, barely, hardly, just, kind of, marginally, minimally, scarcely, slightly, superficially, approximately, roughly, somewhat

Related Entry: Cold-blooded (adjective)

Cold-blooded is a different word from Cold. The synonyms below are for cold-blooded, not for cold.

  1. having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings

    "a cold-blooded criminal who never once showed an ounce of mercy to his victims"

    similar: affectless, callous, case-hardened, compassionless, desensitized, hard, hard-boiled, hard-hearted, heartless, indurate, inhuman, inhumane, insensate, insensitive, ironhearted, merciless, obdurate, pachydermatous, pitiless, remorseless, ruthless, slash-and-burn, soulless, stony, stonyhearted, take-no-prisoners, thick-skinned, uncharitable, unfeeling, unmerciful, unsparing, unsympathetic
    related: boorish, heedless, inconsiderate, thoughtless, uncaring, unfriendly, unloving, unthinking, grim, hard-bitten, harsh, heavy-handed, ironfisted, ironhanded, jackbooted, knock-down, drag-out, oppressive, rough, rough-and-tumble, severe, sledgehammer, stern, tough, ungentle, abusive, acrimonious, disagreeable, hateful, ill-natured, ill-tempered, malevolent, malicious, mean, rancorous, spiteful, surly, virulent, barbarous, bestial, brutal, brutish, cruel, evil-minded, savage, vicious, austere, cold, frosty
    opposite: charitable, compassionate, humane, kindhearted, kindly, merciful, sensitive, softhearted, sympathetic, tender, tenderhearted, warm, warmhearted
    near: benevolent, benignant, gentle, kind, clement, indulgent, lenient, mild, cordial, friendly, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, tolerant, understanding, affectionate, fond, loving

  2. lacking in friendliness or warmth of feeling

    "the cold-blooded selfishness shown by the miser when confronted by people in need"

    similar: antiseptic, arctic, brittle, chill, chilly, clammy, cold, 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

  3. not feeling or showing emotion

    "a cold-blooded assessment of the situation showed that the company needed either to lay off workers or go bankrupt"

    similar: affectless, apathetic, emotionless, impassible, impassive, numb, passionless, phlegmatic, stoic, stolid, undemonstrative, unemotional
    related: cold, cool, dispassionate, unmoved, calm, collected, composed, imperturbable, unflappable, reserved, reticent, taciturn, bland, blank, deadpan, dry, empty, expressionless, inexpressive, stone-faced, straight-faced, vacant, wooden, enigmatic, impenetrable, inscrutable, aloof, bloodless, detached, indifferent, insensible, unconcerned, unsentimental, impersonal, objective, unresponsive, hard-hearted, pitiless, unfeeling, inconsiderate, thoughtless
    opposite: demonstrative, emotional, fervent, fervid, hot-blooded, impassioned, passional, passionate, vehement
    near: blazing, burning, fiery, flaming, glowing, red-hot, ardent, enthusiastic, gung ho, warm-blooded, zealous, gushing, maudlin, mawkish, mushy, sentimental, dramatic, histrionic, melodramatic, overemotional, overheated, perfervid, compassionate, responsive, sympathetic, reactive, sensitive

  4. being offspring produced by parents of different races, breeds, species, or genera

    "he may not be as fancy as the other horses they own, but that cold-blooded gelding is safe and gentle"

    similar: cross, crossbred, hybrid, mixed, mongrel
    related: grade, half-bred, dihybrid, trihybrid, crossed, hybridized, interbred, outcrossed
    opposite: blooded, full-blood, full-blooded, purebred, thoroughbred
    near: pedigreed, inbred, linebred, straightbred

Related Entry: Cold-eyed (adjective)

Cold-eyed is a different word from Cold. The synonyms below are for cold-eyed, not for cold.

  1. having or showing a lack of friendliness or interest in others

    "the attendant's cold-eyed stare discouraged any thoughts about having a conversation"

    similar: aloof, antisocial, asocial, buttoned-up, cold, cool, detached, distant, dry, frosty, offish, remote, standoff, standoffish, unbending, unclubbable, unsociable
    related: indrawn, introverted, nongregarious, recessive, reclusive, reserved, unsocial, withdrawn, misanthropic, apathetic, hard, indifferent, unconcerned, clinical, dispassionate, impersonal, professional, disinterested, incurious, uninterested, reticent, silent, taciturn, uncommunicative, diffident, shy, timid, cliquey, cliquish, clubbish
    opposite: cordial, friendly, sociable, social, warm
    near: boon, clubbable, clubby, companionable, convivial, extroverted, gregarious, outgoing, communicative, expansive, garrulous, talkative, affable, folksy, genial, gracious, hospitable, agreeable, amiable, congenial, kindly, neighborly

  2. lacking in friendliness or warmth of feeling

    "under the cold-eyed gaze of the director, I auditioned for the part"

    similar: antiseptic, arctic, brittle, chill, chilly, clammy, cold, cold-blooded, 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

Related Entry: Cold fish (noun)

Cold fish is a different word from Cold. The synonyms below are for cold fish, not for cold.

  1. a cold aloof person

    "her husband is such a cold fish that I'm reluctant to have them over for dinner"

    similar: cold turkey, iceberg, icicle
    related: clam, stick, wallflower, prig, snob, snoot, snot, stuffed shirt
    near: dear, sweetheart, sweetie

Related Entry: Cold-shoulder (verb)

Cold-shoulder is a different word from Cold. The synonyms below are for cold-shoulder, not for cold.

  1. to deliberately ignore or treat rudely

    "cold-shouldered by his old friends after his family had lost all of its money"

    similar: cut, high-hat, slight, snub, stiff, stiff-arm
    related: isolate, ostracize, brush (aside or off), disdain, rebuff, reject, repel, repulse, scorn, spurn, disregard, forget, neglect, overlook, overpass, pass over, shrug off

Related Entry: Cold shoulder (noun)

Cold shoulder is a different word from Cold. The synonyms below are for cold shoulder, not for cold.

  1. treatment that is deliberately unfriendly

    "at the party the two former friends consciously gave each other the cold shoulder"

    similar: brush-off, rebuff, repulse, silent treatment, snub
    related: dismissal, kiss-off, rejection, banishment, blackball, ostracism
    opposite: open arms
    near: acceptance, embrace, welcome, glad hand, welcome mat

Related Entry: Cold storage (noun)

Cold storage is a different word from Cold. The synonyms below are for cold storage, not for cold.

  1. a state of temporary inactivity

    "the president's domestic programs had been in cold storage while he attended to a string of international crises"

    similar: abeyance, deep freeze, doldrums, dormancy, holding pattern, latency, moratorium, quiescence, suspended animation, suspense, suspension
    related: inaction, inertia, inertness, motionlessness, impasse, standstill, coma, hibernation, hypnosis, repose, rest, sleep, slumber, torpor, recess, recession, remission, downtime, idleness, layoff
    opposite: continuance, continuation
    near: recommencement, renewal, resumption, resuscitation

Related Entry: Cold turkey (noun)

Cold turkey is a different word from Cold. The synonyms below are for cold turkey, not for cold.

  1. a cold aloof person

    "my new boss is a cold turkey and definitely not one for chitchat"

    similar: cold fish, iceberg, icicle
    related: clam, stick, wallflower, prig, snob, snoot, snot, stuffed shirt
    near: dear, sweetheart, sweetie

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Cold

The most common words with a similar meaning to Cold:

Chiefly Scottish: dreich
Chiefly dialect: plumb
algid, arctic, bitter, bone-chilling, chill, chilly, coldish, cool, coolish, freezing, frigid, frosty, gelid, glacial, ice-cold, icy, nipping, nippy, numbing, polar, shivery, snappy, wintry, antiseptic, brittle, clammy, cold-blooded, cold-eyed, frozen, hard-eyed, uncordial, unfriendly, unsympathetic, aloof, antisocial, asocial, buttoned-up, detached, distant, dry

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Cold

Words with the opposite meaning of Cold:

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, cordial, friendly, genial, happy

Related Words for Cold

cryogenic, subfreezing, subzero, ultracold, cutting, keen, penetrating, piercing, sharp, bracing, brisk, crisp, invigorating, rigorous, chilled, cooled, frosted, iced, refrigerated, unheated, bloodless, coldhearted, hard-hearted, heartless, kindless, pitiless, uncaring, unfeeling, reserved, soulless

Near Antonyms of Cold

lukewarm, tepid, heated, overheated, reheated, warmed, snug, toasty, feverish, flushed, inflamed, canicular, equatorial, muggy, steamy, summery, tropical, compassionate, kind, kindhearted, demonstrative, emotional, expressive, eager, enthusiastic, passionate, boon, clubbable, clubby, companionable

Word Forms of Cold

Derived words: coldish (adjective), coldly (adverb), coldness (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Cold

Middle English, going back to Old English cald (Anglian), ceald (West Saxon), going back to Germanic *kalða- (whence Old Saxon cald "cold," Middle Dutch cout, Old High German kalt, Old Norse kaldr, Gothic kalds), verbal adjective from *kalan- "to be cold" (whence Old English calan "to be cold, to make cold," Old Norse kala "to freeze") going back to a dialectal Indo-European base *ǵel-, *ǵol-, whence also Latin gelū, gelus "frost, cold," gelāre "to freeze, chill"

First known use: before 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Cold

Words & Phrases Containing Cold

cold-blooded, cold brew, cold call, cold cash, cold chisel, cold comfort

Frequently Asked Questions about Cold

What does "Cold" mean?

"Cold" means having or being a temperature that is uncomfortably low for humans. As an an adjective, a noun and an adverb, it is defined as: having or being a temperature that is uncomfortably low for humans. It has 8 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Cold"?

Other words for "Cold" include algid, arctic, bitter, bone-chilling, chill, chilly, coldish and cool. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Cold" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Cold"?

There are 290 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Cold". Common alternatives include algid, arctic, bitter, bone-chilling, chill, chilly, coldish, cool, coolish and freezing.

What is the opposite of "Cold"?

Antonyms of "Cold" include ardent, blazing, boiling, broiling, burning, fervent, fervid and fiery. Near antonyms include lukewarm, tepid, heated and overheated.

How do you use "Cold" in a sentence?

Examples of "Cold" in a sentence: "the cold climate of the Yukon"; "an unusually cold spring that was followed by a sweltering summer"; "the prisoners got only a cold stare when they tried to befriend the guard".

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

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

Is "Cold" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Cold" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.

How do you pronounce "Cold"?

"Cold" is pronounced /ˈkōld/.