1
: moderately cold : lacking in warmth
The plant grows best in cool climates.
2
a
: marked by steady dispassionate calmness and self-control
a cool and calculating businessperson
b
: lacking ardor or friendliness
a cool impersonal manner
c
of jazz
: marked by restrained emotion and the frequent use of counterpoint
d
: free from tensions or violence
We used to fight, but we're cool now.
3
—used as an intensive
a cool million dollars
4
: marked by deliberate effrontery or lack of due respect or discretion
a cool reply
5
: facilitating or suggesting relief from heat
a cool dress
6
a
of a color
: producing an impression of being cool
specifically
: of a hue in the range violet through blue to green
b
of a musical tone
: relatively lacking in timbre or resonance (see resonance sense 2a)
7
informal
b
: fashionable, hip
… not happy with the new shoes … because they were not "cool."—Celestine Sibley
cooled; cooling; cools
1
: to become cool : lose heat or warmth
placed the pie in the window to cool
—sometimes used with off or down
2
: to lose ardor or passion
His anger cooled.
1
: to make cool : impart a feeling of coolness to
cooled the room with a fan
—often used with off or downA swim cooled us off a little.
2
a
: to moderate the heat, excitement, or force of : calm
cooled her growing anger
b
: to slow or lessen the growth or activity of
—usually used with off or down
wants to cool off the economy without freezing it—Newsweek
1
: a cool time, place, or situation
the cool of the evening
2
a
: absence of excitement or emotional involvement : detachment
… must surrender his fine cool and enter the closed crazy world of suicide …—Wilfrid Sheed
3
: hipness
: in a casual and nonchalant manner
play it cool
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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