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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in dismissal
treatment that is deliberately unfriendly
at the party the two former friends consciously gave each other the cold shoulder
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples of cold-shoulder in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 16 May 2024
The voluminous tulle piece included cold shoulders and a corseted bodice, and was paired with dazzling diamond drop earrings and stacks of diamond bracelets and rings.
—Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 2 May 2023
China’s cold shoulder to a hotline call from Washington underscores glaring misunderstandings in the U.S.-China relationship and key differences in how the two sides view crisis management.
—Howard Lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Mar. 2023
Elspeth is a virtuoso at the warm sun/cold shoulder art of manipulation, whose elegant gazes of cool disapproval can slam doors.
—Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 29 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for cold-shoulder 
Noun
Meanwhile, Colin has returned from his travels and is disheartened by Penelope's cold shoulder.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 16 May 2024
The voluminous tulle piece included cold shoulders and a corseted bodice, and was paired with dazzling diamond drop earrings and stacks of diamond bracelets and rings.
—Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 2 May 2023
China’s cold shoulder to a hotline call from Washington underscores glaring misunderstandings in the U.S.-China relationship and key differences in how the two sides view crisis management.
—Howard Lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Mar. 2023
Elspeth is a virtuoso at the warm sun/cold shoulder art of manipulation, whose elegant gazes of cool disapproval can slam doors.
—Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 29 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for cold-shoulder
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cold-shoulder.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Cold-shoulder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cold-shoulder. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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