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

Example 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
But the Rockies gave them a cold shoulder, losing 6-3 to the Athletics in 11 innings in a game that took 3 hours and 21 minutes. Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 4 Apr. 2025 Worst of all, local and state government agencies have shown an increasing tendency to fend off public-records requests with barriers like unjustified fees or a simple cold shoulder, letting records requests lie dormant for weeks or months with no response. Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, Orlando Sentinel, 20 Mar. 2025 The omission sparked some spirited posts on social media about Young and other players who received a cold shoulder from voters. Chantz Martin, Fox News, 1 Feb. 2025 The actress wore the brand’s cold shoulder midi dress, which featured a plunging neckline with gold-tone bead detailing. Julia Teti, WWD, 31 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for cold-shoulder
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cold-shoulder
Verb
  • In response, the city's IT systems were shut down on July 28 to isolate the city's infrastructure from potential damage, according to Mayor Melvin Carter.
    Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 30 July 2025
  • They can be used to enforce least privilege, restrict destructive actions, and isolate misconfigured services—all without requiring code changes.
    Tony Bradley, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
Noun
  • Right now, all Broward students are prohibited from using their cellphones from the morning bell until dismissal, under a policy the School Board passed last year in hopes of improving mental health and academics among students.
    Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel, 24 July 2025
  • But the Trump administration said Maddox instead should’ve taken his cue from the Supreme Court’s May decision allowing the president to fire Democratic members of two federal labor boards while the former members challenge their dismissals.
    Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 24 July 2025
Verb
  • Just this week, The Late Show scored yet another Emmy nomination (even as the TV Academy snubbed late night’s most promising debut in ages: Netflix’s Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney).
    Judy Berman, Time, 18 July 2025
  • The Hollywood Reporter, The Los Angeles Times and Gold Derby’s picks for nominees for the Outstanding Drama Series are the same as Variety’s predictions, but Variety is predicting that Paradise will earn a nomination in the category and Squid Game will get snubbed.
    Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
Noun
  • Campaigning for a job is stressful enough without unearned silent treatment from an organization someone’s pining for.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
  • Brit greets everyone, including Kelli, who opts for the ever-mature silent treatment.
    Shelby Stewart, Essence, 22 June 2025
Verb
  • Israel has strongly rejected claims that the country is perpetuating a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
    Savannah Kuchar, USA Today, 29 July 2025
  • If any other construction would render the clause inoperative, that is an additional reason for rejecting such other construction, and for adhering to the obvious meaning.
    Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 29 July 2025
Verb
  • And for the legions of blue-collar stiffs just like him.
    Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 11 July 2025
  • The boar bristles are bendy to move with hair but still stiff enough to detangle knots.
    Olivia Cigliano, Footwear News, 12 June 2025
Verb
  • The National Endowment for the Humanities cut the grant this spring.
    Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 22 July 2025
  • The Oak Ridge Boys, Reba McEntire, Jeannie C. Riley, Connie Smith and the duo of Charlie Louvin and Melba Montgomery were among the acts who cut her songs.
    Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 22 July 2025
Verb
  • Related article Gay rights icon Harvey Milk’s legacy slighted by decision to rename Navy ship Wald says that waiting to transition can create additional psychological distress for a child and can raise their risk of depression, suicidality, self-harm or substance misuse.
    Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 18 June 2025
  • Despite Meg’s efforts to connect, Ellen (Kyra Sedgwick) repeatedly slights her future daughter-in-law.
    Natalia Winkelman, New York Times, 22 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Cold-shoulder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cold-shoulder. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.

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