Synonyms of cold

cold 1 of 3

adjective

ˈkōld 

1

as in freezing

having a low or subnormal temperature

the cold climate of the Yukon

an unusually cold spring that was followed by a sweltering summer

Synonyms & Similar Words

• freezing
• chilly
• icy
• frigid
• chill
• cool
• arctic
• frosty
• bitter
• ice-cold
• polar
• wintry
• glacial
• gelid
• numbing
• chilled
• brisk
• cooled
• coolish
• coldish
• shivery
• nippy
• bone-chilling
• algid
• snappy
• crisp
• cryogenic
• subzero
• nipping
• frozen
• penetrating
• ultracold
• subfreezing
• iced
• bracing
• piercing
• unheated
• cutting
• refrigerated
• sharp
• rigorous
• frosted
• keen
• invigorating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hot
• warming
• boiling
• burning
• sweltering
• igneous
• fiery
• molten
• lukewarm
• torrid
• seething
• ardent
• fervent
• searing
• broiling
• red-hot
• sizzling
• warm
• tepid
• white-hot
• sultry
• fervid
• blazing
• heated
• roasting
• glowing
• piping hot
• warmed
• scorching
• scalding
• overheated
• reheated
• feverish
• ultrahot
• tropical
• snug
• inflamed
• muggy
• steamy
• flushed
• equatorial
• toasty
• summery
• canicular

2

as in icy

lacking in friendliness or warmth of feeling

the prisoners got only a cold stare when they tried to befriend the guard

Synonyms & Similar Words

• icy
• chilly
• frigid
• cool
• chill
• brittle
• arctic
• frozen
• clammy
• frosty
• wintry
• reserved
• glacial
• unfriendly
• detached
• coldish
• antiseptic
• gelid
• unsympathetic
• uncordial
• pitiless
• hard-eyed
• uncaring
• cold-blooded
• heartless
• cold-eyed
• unfeeling
• unemotional
• unresponsive
• soulless
• bloodless
• indifferent
• impersonal
• aloof
• coldhearted
• uninterested
• undemonstrative
• apathetic
• dispassionate
• unenthusiastic
• hard-hearted
• standoffish
• antisocial
• unsociable
• kindless
• unsocial
• offish

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• warm
• happy
• sympathetic
• friendly
• cordial
• hearty
• genial
• kind
• emotional
• compassionate
• warm-blooded
• expressive
• warmhearted
• eager
• demonstrative
• enthusiastic
• passionate
• kindhearted

3

as in distant

having or showing a lack of friendliness or interest in others

received a cold reception from the hostess

Synonyms & Similar Words

• distant
• detached
• cool
• dry
• frosty
• remote
• reserved
• withdrawn
• aloof
• antisocial
• silent
• standoffish
• offish
• unsociable
• timid
• clinical
• unbending
• asocial
• hard
• professional
• shy
• unclubbable
• cold-eyed
• standoff
• buttoned-up
• indifferent
• unsocial
• impersonal
• introverted
• reclusive
• misanthropic
• recessive
• apathetic
• dispassionate
• indrawn
• unconcerned
• disinterested
• uninterested
• taciturn
• uncommunicative
• incurious
• reticent
• diffident
• nongregarious
• cliquish
• clubbish
• cliquey

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• warm
• social
• friendly
• cordial
• sociable
• outgoing
• convivial
• gregarious
• companionable
• expansive
• extroverted
• boon
• communicative
• talkative
• garrulous
• hospitable
• gracious
• clubby
• genial
• affable
• folksy
• congenial
• amiable
• clubbable
• agreeable
• kindly
• neighborly

4

as in unconscious

having lost consciousness

the boxer was out cold for a few minutes

Synonyms & Similar Words

• unconscious
• senseless
• insensible
• anesthetized
• semiconscious
• collapsed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• conscious
• aware
• up
• awake
• alert
• revived
• resuscitated

5

as in dark

causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer

the couple practiced a cold civility with each other, but they hadn't had a heart-to-heart talk in years

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dark
• bleak
• lonely
• depressing
• somber
• depressive
• desolate
• darkening
• murky
• gray
• solemn
• miserable
• lonesome
• chill
• morbid
• blue
• black
• depressed
• gloomy
• cheerless
• dreary
• wretched
• cloudy
• dismal
• sullen
• sad
• oppressive
• morose
• glum
• comfortless
• funereal
• dire
• disconsolate
• forlorn
• lugubrious
• sepulchral
• melancholy
• saturnine
• drear
• elegiac
• dreich
• godforsaken
• desperate
• sunless
• dull
• unhappy
• plutonian
• tenebrous
• negative
• tenebrific
• Cimmerian
• hopeless
• dim
• low
• dejected
• melancholic
• mournful
• grim
• discouraging
• woebegone
• down
• mirthless
• inconsolable
• woeful
• droopy
• distressful
• menacing
• distressing
• despondent
• dispiriting
• upsetting
• pessimistic
• disheartening
• drab
• dismaying
• sorrowful
• colorless
• hangdog
• discomfiting
• lamentable
• plaintive
• dour
• threatening
• lowering
• lowery

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• bright
• friendly
• cheerful
• comforting
• festive
• gay
• cordial
• cheery
• sunshiny
• merry
• jolly
• gay
• joyous
• joyful
• buoyant
• blithe
• optimistic
• mirthful
• hopeful
• cheering
• encouraging
• heartwarming
• blithesome
• jocund
• lighthearted
• lightsome

6

as in fallen

no longer living

paramedics tried to revive him, but he was already cold

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fallen
• dead
• late
• deceased
• low
• lifeless
• gone
• asleep
• extinct
• dying
• departed
• breathless
• defunct
• demised
• bitten the dust
• fading
• moribund
• finished
• inanimate
• terminated
• stillborn
• insensate
• lapsed
• nonliving

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• breathing
• live
• quick
• alive
• living
• going
• dynamic
• active
• vital
• lively
• vibrant
• animate
• operative
• functioning
• animated
• thriving
• vivacious
• running

cold

2 of 3

noun

as in freeze

a weather condition marked by low temperatures

the cold will stay with us for another day, then temperatures should rise

Synonyms & Similar Words

• freeze
• coldness
• frost
• cold wave
• chill
• deep freeze
• chilliness
• bite
• snap
• cold front
• chillness
• frigidness
• nip
• wintriness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• heat
• heat wave
• dog days
• torridity
• torridness

cold

3 of 3

adverb

as in plain

Related Words

• plain
• downright
• stone-cold
• even
• absolutely
• quite
• fast
• flat
• clean
• entire
• entirely
• wholly
• completely
• dead
• stone
• enough
• wide
• utterly
• all
• perfectly
• thoroughly
• totally
• fully
• hands down
• categorically
• soundly
• out
• mostly
• well
• unqualifiedly
• mainly
• all over
• predominantly
• generally
• principally
• heartily
• primarily
• full
• largely
• substantially
• chiefly
• altogether
• predominately
• basically
• more or less
• through and through
• by and large
• plumb
• all of
• overall
• exactly
• copiously
• generously
• abundantly
• greatly

Dissimilar Words

• partially
• partly
• halfway
• half
• just
• slightly
• barely
• hardly
• scarcely
• marginally
• somewhat
• incompletely
• minimally
• superficially
• part
• approximately
• roughly
• kind of

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of cold

Adjective

The Gobi Desert is a vast, cold semi-arid and arid expanse stretching across 500,000 square miles of Mongolia and northern China. — Roger Sands, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

The global spa industry hit roughly $157 billion in 2025, per Grand View Research, and cold therapy is one of its fastest-growing pillars. — Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 8 July 2026

Noun

But failing to keep moving in such brutal cold is the worst possible strategy—the fast lane to hypothermia. — William Finnegan, New Yorker, 29 June 2026

The boundary between heat and cold will also serve as a focus for heavy rain and severe weather, raising concerns for localized flooding where storms train over the same areas. — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 26 June 2026

Adverb

All told, the five sites collected 5,195 dead or cold-stunned iguanas. — Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 5 Feb. 2026

Whenever this happens, iguanas, which are accustomed to hot weather, become cold-stunned. — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2026

Phrases Containing cold

• cold fish
• cold shoulder
• cold storage
• cold turkey
• cold wave
• throw cold water on