COLD TURKEY Synonyms: 14 Similar and Opposite Words

cold turkey

noun

Definition of cold turkey

as in clam

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

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of cold turkey Even if head coach Mike Elko and his staff stopped recruiting cold turkey today and didn't pick up their phones until after signing day, this class would already be in some rarefied air. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 June 2026 The step-by-step approach matters because going cold turkey rarely sticks. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 May 2026 The food menu has salads and breakfast sandwiches, paninis and burritos ($11-$15), as well as a lone cold turkey club. — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 13 May 2026 For advertisers, going cold turkey on clicks means shifting strategy from traffic quantity to conversion quality. — Ivan Doruda, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cold turkey

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cold turkey

Noun

Unlike the traditional baked dish of littlenecks stuffed with bacon and breadcrumbs, Jimmy’s version comes as a bowl of thumbnail-sized Manila clams tossed with guanciale, compound butter and breadcrumbs.

— Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Forgo the salad and lean into Baja influences with clam and bottarga linguine or seafood puttanesca, and save room for an affogato.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of clam

Noun

That impulse extends to dealing with occasional rude customers at her day gig, where the coworkers are nice but the boss, family-business heir Maxwell Sterling (Peter Serafinowicz), is one nasty cold fish.

— Dennis Harvey, Variety, 27 Nov. 2025
Lancelot, still the Round Table’s greatest hero, is a bit of a cold fish with an unexpected role to play as the saga winds to its close.

— Elizabeth Hand, Washington Post, 16 July 2024

Definition of cold fish

Noun

As the town and its residents descend into chaos after a massive iceberg emerges from the water, Calvin realizes it might all be connected to his father’s accident.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
For every actual Newfoundland filming location, there’s a CG iceberg.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of iceberg

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cold sweat

cold turkey

cold war

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Style

“Cold turkey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cold%20turkey. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of cold turkey

noun

Example Sentences

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8 Meaty Idioms

Why do we quit 'cold turkey'?

Talking Turkey at Thanksgiving

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