bone-chilling

adjective

bone-chill·​ing ˈbōn-ˌchi-liŋ 

: intensely cold

bone-chilling weather

also : penetrating, disturbing, or intense in emotional or physical effect

bone-chilling drama

a bone-chilling wind

Synonyms

• algid
• arctic
• bitter
• chill
• chilly
• cold
• coldish
• cool
• coolish
• freezing
• frigid
• frosty
• gelid
• glacial
• ice-cold
• icy
• nipping
• nippy
• numbing
• polar
• shivery
• snappy
• wintry
• wintery

Examples of bone-chilling in a Sentence

we stood in line for hours in the bone-chilling weather

Recent Examples on the Web

After bone-chilling cold, warm weather on deck for most of the US Above-average temperatures will dominate much of the U.S. beginning this weekend and continuing into next week, melting snow and bringing reprieve from the dangerous cold for many, Weather.com said. —Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2025

Once a player finds a few pieces of warm clothing, even the most bone-chilling wind could be shrugged off without a second thought. —Issy Van Der Velde, Rolling Stone, 20 Feb. 2025

Elsewhere, bone-chilling cold was expected for the Northern Plains with low temperatures into the minus 30s near the Canadian border. —Selina Guevara, NBC News, 16 Feb. 2025

Grant, 64, also notched recognition at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards this season for his bone-chilling work. —Jack Smart, People.com, 16 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1861, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bone-chilling

• backfilling
• distilling
• fulfilling
• infilling
• instilling
• refilling
• sawmilling
• unwilling
• billing
• chilling
• drilling
• filling