cold turkey

Definition of cold turkeynext
as in clam
a cold aloof person my new boss is a cold turkey and definitely not one for chitchat

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 At first, the idea of going cold turkey is jarring and scary. Lauren Decarlo, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Jan. 2026 Going cold turkey is, often, an onerous way of quitting something completely and suddenly. Natalie Escobar, NPR, 26 Nov. 2025 But unlike nicotine or narcotics, food is something that all people need to survive, so quitting cold turkey isn’t an option. Claire Wilcox, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025 Don’t quit everything you are involved with cold turkey. Phil Blair, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for cold turkey
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cold turkey
Noun
  • The United States was 116 years old when a 6-foot-3, 210-pound bruiser named Pudge pocketed those 500 clams.
    Steve Doerschuk, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
  • If the hack is successful, the enemy will crack open like a clam, revealing its glowing weak points for Hugh to shoot.
    Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 14 Apr. 2026
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
Noun
  • Sawdust floated over our heads as another student used a chop saw to cut stick framing for doors and windows.
    Emma Green, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2026
  • And for the aviation fanatic, ice cream stick planes never made the cut.
    Victoria Le, Oc Register, 14 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • That’s what was being asked — for days — after the White Star Line’s famous steamship Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic Ocean.
    Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
  • The new White Star liner Titanic is reported in advices received here late tonight to have struck an iceberg.
    Cassidy Alexander, AJC.com, 15 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Cold turkey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cold%20turkey. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.

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