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
-
So after an abysmal home sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox over Fourth of July weekend, Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner delivered news of the dismissals to Rizzo and field manager Dave Martinez.
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Even so, these dismissals are symptomatic of a system in crisis.
Verb
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The Beats Studio Pro isolates your music using adaptive active noise cancelling and 360-degree Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking.
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For clear voice communication, each earbud has a dual-microphone system paired with an AI noise reduction algorithm that isolates the wearer’s voice from ambient sound in the background.
Noun
-
For many, two key snubs for Mauricio Pochettino’s first World Cup roster were in the midfield, as Diego Luna and Tanner Tessman weren’t among the 26 men on the stage at Pier 17.
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Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro, Levi Colwill and Estevao will all get a full summer to recover their minds and bodies and enjoy the benefits of something resembling a proper pre-season, fuelled by the additional motivation of their World Cup snubs.
Verb
-
Yet the Kremlin rejects the allegations and denies wrongdoing there.
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The Israel Prison Service rejects allegations of abuse, starvation, or denial of medical treatment.
Verb
-
Amid rising travel costs, Nguyen prioritizes travel in her budget and cuts expenses elsewhere.
-
If the business stabilizes, cuts costs, sells an underperforming division, or improves capital allocation, the stock can re-rate quickly.
Verb
-
Sigmund Freud believed that every crush has a strand of disgust, that people are attracted to what repulses them.
-
Charlie, though, is trying to keep them out of a country that thoroughly repulses him.
Cite this Entry
“Cold shoulders.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cold%20shoulders. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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