cold-shoulder 1 of 2

as in to isolate
to deliberately ignore or treat rudely cold-shouldered by his old friends after his family had lost all of its money

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cold shoulder

2 of 2

noun

as in dismissal
treatment that is deliberately unfriendly at the party the two former friends consciously gave each other the cold shoulder

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples 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-shoulder
Noun
Trump took this ideological variant of isolationism too far during his presidency, exhibiting a fondness for autocrats such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jung Un while giving a cold shoulder to the leaders of allied democracies. Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 9 Sep. 2024 Like many filmmakers before him, Christopher Nolan had to endure some cold shoulders and false starts in his relationship with Oscar, but he’ll be welcomed into the club with open arms. Nate Jones, Vulture, 8 Mar. 2024 How likely, for example, are my wife and I to get back on speaking terms after giving each other a cold shoulder ever since the second Reagan administration? Bob Brody, New York Daily News, 14 Feb. 2024 Moscow blamed Israeli recklessness and turned a cold shoulder to Netanyahu. Aluf Benn, Foreign Affairs, 6 Feb. 2019 See all Example Sentences for cold-shoulder 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cold-shoulder
Verb
  • The decomposition products of chloramines are difficult to isolate and identify, and this substance has proven particularly elusive.
    Tom Hawking, Popular Science, 22 Nov. 2024
  • The byproduct has been in tap water for decades, but was hard to isolate.
    Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 22 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • Note that states with lots of quits and dismissals also ranked high on hirings.
    Jonathan Lansner, Orange County Register, 20 Nov. 2024
  • The dismissal of Douglas, who was 30-64 and had no winning seasons in his tenure, came exactly six weeks after Johnson fired Saleh as coach on Oct. 8 after the Jets were 2-3 to open the year.
    Dennis Waszak Jr., Twin Cities, 19 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • With that in mind, Beyoncé had one of the biggest country albums of the year with Cowboy Carter but was heavily snubbed.
    Mesfin Fekadu, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Nov. 2024
  • The Academy’s country voters have trended a touch more progressive than the Nashville institutions that continue to snub Bey, so this isn’t revolutionary.
    Justin Curto, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • No spanking, humiliation, silent treatment, name calling, withholding of love and affection, or nonsensical punishments and consequences.
    Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 3 July 2024
  • After her husband retired, the disengagement, silent treatment and lack of support that characterized the relationship worsened.
    Abby Ellin, Washington Post, 1 July 2024
Verb
  • The whistleblower lawsuit, however, was allowed to move forward after the Texas Supreme Court rejected Paxton's appeal to kill the suit after his impeachment trial.
    Hogan Gore, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
  • However, the judge rejected James’ claim in the lawsuit that alleged SiriusXM had engaged in fraud and deception by misleading subscribers seeking to cancel their accounts.
    Todd Spangler, Variety, 22 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • The dialogue was ham-handed, the performances stiff, the villain lame, the story stupid.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 19 July 2024
  • The 100 percent carbon shaft of the Storm 2 is strong enough to withstand freakish plants that would normally end in snapping, light enough (at 75 grams per meter) to prevent fatigue after repetitive motion, and stiff enough to propel us forward.
    Stephanie Pearson, Outside Online, 10 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • Other photos highlighted more moments from their evening including group family shots, her sister-in-law cutting the turkey and the food spread.
    Emma Aerin Becker, People.com, 30 Nov. 2024
  • Part of that performance has been fueled by expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates into next year, after reducing borrowing costs by 75 basis points in 2024.
    Lewis Krauskopf, USA TODAY, 30 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Luke Bryan feels slighted by recent election results — but not that one.
    Marina Watts, People.com, 21 Nov. 2024
  • Arab Americans are one voting bloc that’s used to being slighted by both major parties.
    Abdallah Fayyad, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018

Thesaurus Entries Near cold-shoulder

cold shoulder

cold-shoulder

cold-shouldered

Cite this Entry

“Cold-shoulder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cold-shoulder. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.

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