cold shoulder

noun

Definition of cold shoulder

: intentionally cold or unsympathetic treatment got the cold shoulder from an old friend

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Synonyms & Antonyms for cold shoulder

Synonyms

brush-off, rebuff, repulse, silent treatment, snub

Antonyms

Examples of cold shoulder in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

The sense of power that new managers gain can offset the cold shoulder from colleagues, a 2015 study says. — Sue Shellenbarger, WSJ, "When a Promotion Means Losing Friends at Work," 26 Feb. 2019 Those cold shoulders were easy to ignore when the jobless rate was above 6 percent and the Army’s most dependable recruiter, Sgt. — Dave Philipps, The Seattle Times, "The Army, in need of recruits, turns focus to Seattle, other liberal-leaning cities," 2 Jan. 2019 Making the case for a little skin, however, is Vogue cover girl Emily Blunt, who gave passerbys the November cold shoulder yesterday in Los Angeles. — Jenna Rennert, Vogue, "Emily Blunt's Risky Skin Reveal Is a Lesson in Year-Round Body Confidence," 15 Nov. 2018 Beheading, for example, took care of Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Mary Stuart and lesser irritants, until the chop gave way to the cold shoulder (Edward who?). — Anna Mundow, WSJ, "‘Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret’ Review: The Id of the Royal Family," 3 Aug. 2018 Coming up, Alan Dershowitz getting the cold shoulder on Martha's Vineyard for defending the President, is that actual news. — Fox News, "Media's Supreme Court scrutiny," 9 July 2018 And even though this one doesn’t have all the accouterments of newer models, its presence in my life is like a cup of hot cocoa in a world of cold shoulders. — Darcel Rockett, chicagotribune.com, "Why we fall in love and stay in love with certain car models," 14 Feb. 2018 Key Democratic leaders definitely weren’t getting the cold shoulder. — James Freeman, WSJ, "Can We Trust Facebook and Twitter?," 31 July 2018 While Ferguson and Prince Andrew have managed to remain on good terms, other members of the royal family have given her the cold shoulder. — Nadra Nittle, Vox, "There’s another royal wedding coming up: Princess Eugenie’s," 5 Oct. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cold shoulder.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Statistics for cold shoulder

Last Updated

3 Mar 2019

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Time Traveler for cold shoulder

The first known use of cold shoulder was in 1816

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