Inflected forms: cold·er, cold·est 1a. Having a low temperature. b. Having a temperature lower than normal body temperature. c. Feeling no warmth; uncomfortably chilled. 2a. Marked by deficient heat: a cold room.b. Being at a temperature that is less than what is required: cold oatmeal.c. Chilled by refrigeration or ice: cold beer.3. Lacking emotion; objective: cold logic.4. Having no appeal to the senses or feelings: a cold decor.5a. Not affectionate or friendly; aloof: a cold person; a cold nod.b. Exhibiting or feeling no enthusiasm: a cold audience; a cold response to the new play; a concert that left me cold.c. Devoid of sexual desire; frigid. 6. Designating a tone or color, such as pale gray, that suggests little warmth. 7. Having lost all freshness or vividness through passage of time: dogs attempting to catch a cold scent.8a. Marked by or sustaining a loss of body heat: cold hands and feet.b. Appearing to be dead; unconscious. c. Dead: was cold in his grave.9. Marked by unqualified certainty or sure familiarity. 10. So intense as to be almost uncontrollable: cold fury.11. Characterized by repeated failure, especially in a sport or competitive activity: The team fell into a slump of cold shooting.
ADVERB:
1. To an unqualified degree; totally: was cold sober.2. With complete finality: We turned him down cold.3. Without advance preparation or introduction: took the exam cold and passed; walked in cold and got the new job.
NOUN:
1a. Relative lack of warmth. b. The sensation resulting from lack of warmth; chill. 2. A condition of low air temperature; cold weather: went out into the cold and got a chill.3. A viral infection characterized by inflammation of the mucous membranes lining the upper respiratory passages and usually accompanied by malaise, fever, chills, coughing, and sneezing. Also called common cold, coryza.
IDIOM:
out in the cold Lacking benefits given to others; neglected.
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Old English ceald. See gel- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:
coldly —ADVERB coldness —NOUN
SYNONYMS:
cold, arctic, chilly, cool, frigid, frosty, gelid, glacial, icy These adjectives mean marked by a low or an extremely low temperature: cold air; an arctic climate; a chilly day; cool water; a frigid room; a frosty morning; gelid seas; glacial winds; icy hands.
k
ld
ly —ADVERB
