cold-eyed

adjective

Synonyms of cold-eyednext
: cold in manner or appearance
especially : coolly dispassionate
cold-eyed analysis

Examples of cold-eyed in a Sentence

the attendant's cold-eyed stare discouraged any thoughts about having a conversation under the cold-eyed gaze of the director, I auditioned for the part
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Beneath them was a relentless worker and a cold-eyed political operator who, almost alone among the wives of French presidents, built a base of power that was her own. ABC News, 6 June 2026 The setting, which changes from a blank Brutalism to a trailer-park-home installation suggesting one of Arnold’s cold-eyed dioramas, creates its own theatrical coup. Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026 In this sense, though Trump is impulsive and narcissistic while Sacks is cold-eyed and logical, they are well matched. George Packer, The Atlantic, 4 May 2026 Played by a Colman Domingo who is done up to look the most wax figurine of them all in a shellacking of makeup, prosthetics, and colored contacts, Joe is always either giving an avaricious open-mouthed leer or a cold-eyed glare. Alison Willmore, Vulture, 23 Apr. 2026 Cats and dogs cold-eyed, so soon, so soon the dream over. Chen Yuhong, The Dial, 3 Feb. 2026 Yet, however eager the demonstrations of Denmark’s contribution and NATO’s collective goodwill may be, a more cold-eyed rationale may lie beneath their surface. Lisa Abend, Time, 18 Jan. 2026 The patriarch would like the ladies and Coleman to join him forthwith in Mexico; the letter’s bearer – a cold-eyed brute named Amos Turlow – will serve as guide. Erin Douglass, Christian Science Monitor, 26 Nov. 2025 These were acts of opportunism by a cold-eyed pragmatist. James Verini, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cold-eyed was in 1819

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Cite this Entry

“Cold-eyed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cold-eyed. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.

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