cold-blooded

adjective

cold-blood·​ed ˈkōl(d)-ˈblə-dəd 

1

a

: done or acting without consideration, compunction, or clemency

cold-blooded murder

b

: matter-of-fact, emotionless

a cold-blooded assessment

2

: having cold blood

specifically : having a body temperature not internally regulated but approximating that of the environment

3

or coldblood

ˈkōl(d)-ˈbləd 

: of mixed or inferior breeding

4

: noticeably sensitive to cold

cold-bloodedly adverb

cold-bloodedness noun

Synonyms

• affectless
• callous
• case-hardened
• compassionless
• desensitized
• hard
• hard-boiled
• hard-hearted
• heartless
• indurate
• inhuman
• inhumane
• insensate
• insensitive
• ironhearted
• merciless
• obdurate
• pachydermatous
• pitiless
• remorseless
• ruthless
• slash-and-burn
• soulless
• stony
• stoney
• stonyhearted
• take-no-prisoners
• thick-skinned
• uncharitable
• unfeeling
• unmerciful
• unsparing
• unsympathetic

Examples of cold-blooded in a Sentence

a cold-blooded criminal who never once showed an ounce of mercy to his victims

the cold-blooded selfishness shown by the miser when confronted by people in need

a cold-blooded assessment of the situation showed that the company needed either to lay off workers or go bankrupt

he may not be as fancy as the other horses they own, but that cold-blooded gelding is safe and gentle

Recent Examples on the Web

Life What the Gombe Chimpanzee War taught us about human nature From 1974 to 1978, the chimps of Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania were at war with each other, the first time conservationists saw chimps engage in calculated, cold-blooded killing. —Big Think, 24 June 2024

The sound of impact was remarkable: a plasticky, irrevocable, cold-blooded, bad-news crump. —James Parker, The Atlantic, 13 June 2024

This tenderness, allies say, is lost in the caricature of Freedman — often bolstered by the attorney himself — as a cold-blooded legal terminator. —Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 June 2024

Given that India is an essential player in any regional anti-China effort, the administration is making a cold-blooded choice to push democracy and human rights down on the priorities list. —Zack Beauchamp, Vox, 22 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

cold-blooded

adjective

cold-blood·​ed

ˈkōl(d)-ˈbləd-əd

1

: lacking or showing a lack of natural human feelings

a cold-blooded criminal

2

: having a body temperature not regulated by the body and close to that of the environment

3

: sensitive to cold

cold-bloodedly adverb

Medical Definition

cold-blooded

adjective

cold-blood·​ed ˈkōl(d)-ˈbləd-əd 

: having a body temperature not internally regulated but approximating that of the environment : poikilothermic

cold-blooded amphibians and reptiles

cold-bloodedness noun