as in dismissals
treatment that is deliberately unfriendly
at the party the two former friends consciously gave each other the cold shoulder
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in isolates
to deliberately ignore or treat rudely
cold-shouldered by his old friends after his family had lost all of its money
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cold shoulders
Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
These rules were administered via cold shoulders and whispers.
—Alessandra Schade, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
My first issue, in January, launched Nan Goldin’s campaign against the Sackler family for their role in the opioid epidemic, and this action has inspired cold shoulders from the philanthropic class.
—David Velasco, Harpers Magazine, 18 Dec. 2023
Noun
There are screaming matches and cold shoulders.
—Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
These rules were administered via cold shoulders and whispers.
—Alessandra Schade, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
My first issue, in January, launched Nan Goldin’s campaign against the Sackler family for their role in the opioid epidemic, and this action has inspired cold shoulders from the philanthropic class.
—David Velasco, Harpers Magazine, 18 Dec. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cold shoulders
Noun
-
Plaintiffs' lawyers were scheduled to depose former DHS Deputy Chief of Staff Joseph Guy next week in an ongoing discovery effort around the decision-making that led to the CORE dismissals.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 May 2026
-
The full notebook is worth a read, including insight into some possibly shocking coach dismissals.—
Chris Branch,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Disconnecting the negative cable first isolates the battery and eliminates that possibility.—
John Paul Senior Manager Public Affairs And Traffic Safety Aaa Northeast,
Hartford Courant,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Meek’s best writing often isolates intimate moments with tenderness and relatability.—
Dean Van Nguyen,
Pitchfork,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In an oppositional reading, the reader understands the dominant ideology expressed in the text but rejects it and interprets the text in an alternative way.—
Shepherd Mpofu,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Apr. 2026
-
And with its bare Instagram presence, Antigone rejects polish for rawness, allowing the strength of its curation to speak for itself.—
Kat Chen,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But Colorado can answer the snubs by winning the Stanley Cup.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
2 May 2026
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That’s because Deadwyler has proven her knack for summoning visceral, harrowingly realistic emotion in stories of painful resonance, work which has led to a bevy of critics’ awards, Indie Spirit and BAFTA nominations — and a good deal of outcry over Oscar snubs.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
These systems charge when electricity is cheap and feed power back during peak hours, which cuts reliance on the most expensive generation and keeps prices more stable.—
Tom Von Essen,
New York Daily News,
3 May 2026
-
The video then cuts to two Apache helicopters whirling up.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
Sigmund Freud believed that every crush has a strand of disgust, that people are attracted to what repulses them.—
Daniel Felsenthal,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Charlie, though, is trying to keep them out of a country that thoroughly repulses him.—
Alexander Nazaryan,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cold shoulders.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cold%20shoulders. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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