cold turkey

1 of 2

noun

1

: abrupt complete cessation of the use of an addictive drug

also : the symptoms experienced by a person undergoing withdrawal from a drug

2

: unrelieved blunt language or procedure

3

: a cold aloof person

cold-turkey

ˈkōld-ˈtər-kē 

transitive verb

cold turkey

2 of 2

adverb

: all at once : abruptly: such as

a

: without a period of gradual adjustment, adaptation, or withdrawal

quit smoking cold turkey

b

: without preparation

a new player who started the season cold turkey

Synonyms

Noun

• cold fish
• iceberg
• icicle

Examples of cold turkey in a Sentence

Noun

I tried lots of ways to stop smoking, even cold turkey.

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

No matter the continued risk of withdrawal symptoms, medications like methadone for those who are pregnant are still safer than quitting illicit fentanyl cold turkey, according to Davidson. —Kate Bolduan, CNN Money, 30 Mar. 2025

Going off the drugs cold turkey, as Parker Posey’s character does, could lead to dangerous withdrawal symptoms in real life. —Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 19 Mar. 2025

Adverb

The girls’ trip turns into a kind of unintended intervention, even a detox, especially once she’s deprived of her phone and forced to go cold turkey. —Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2022

He’s tried going cold turkey by himself and in clean and sober facilities. —Kevin Fagan, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Mar. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1919, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1941, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cold turkey

• jerky
• murky
• perky
• quirky
• turki

Medical Definition

cold turkey

noun

cold tur·​key -ˈtər-kē 

: abrupt complete cessation of the use of an addictive drug

also : the symptoms experienced by one undergoing withdrawal from a drug

cold-turkey adverb or transitive verb