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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of cold-shoulder
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for cold-shoulder
Noun
Sal feels every insult, every quip, and every cold shoulder from one of his kids.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for cold-shoulder
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cold-shoulder
Verb
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The church's chef, Odeh, gave a small speech, telling students this community is an act of defiance in itself for all those who want to separate and isolate the others.—
Lily Kepner,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Allies and Trump aides also reject the notion that Trump is airing any new skepticism of Israel.—
Shelby Talcott,
semafor.com,
29 July 2025
-
Israel has strongly rejected claims that the country is perpetuating a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.—
Savannah Kuchar,
USA Today,
29 July 2025
Verb
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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
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On Thursday, the White House announced that Trump had just sent letters to the heads of 17 major pharmaceutical companies pushing them to cut the prices that Americans have to pay down to the levels that people in other countries pay.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
3 Aug. 2025
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The goal, according to Pardo, was to increase voter turnout by aligning with the national election cycle while also cutting election costs.—
Tess Riski
August 2,
Miami Herald,
2 Aug. 2025
Verb
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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
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Despite Meg’s efforts to connect, Ellen (Kyra Sedgwick) repeatedly slights her future daughter-in-law.—
Natalia Winkelman,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cold-shoulder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cold-shoulder. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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