Cold-blooded — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Cold-blooded (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

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