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Glite Dictionary
to cold-shoulder

to cold-shoulder

1 7.7
To ignore someone on purpose to show you are angry or unfriendly
  • phrasal verb
  • /koʊld ˈʃoʊldər/
  • Informal
translation icon : ignorar
  • What do you do when a friend suggests to you that you should turn a cold shoulder to somebody who you know doesn't deserve that right?

Examples

  • Or Bosnia, where the Clinton administration cold-shouldered the Vance-Owen partition plan, even though this offered the best hope for a quick end to the bloodshed.

    Academic text (2003)

  • Ignoring his calls was a way to cold-shoulder him after their disagreement.

  • I can't say they exactly cold-shouldered me.

    Ruby Gentry (1952)

  • They cold-shouldered him right out, but did that stop him?

    The Thin Man Goes Home (1944)

  • Modernism was the last straw: cold-shouldered, readers moved on for good.

    Academic text (2010)

  • And if you give this friend the cold shoulder, you're going to take this pattern of ghosting people and unfriending people

  • "The opposition, understandably, was fierce; he was at once condemned by orthodox Catholics and cold-shouldered by other contemporaries.

    Academic text (1990)

  • After the argument, she decided to cold-shoulder her former friend at the party.

  • He felt hurt when his colleagues chose to cold-shoulder him during the meeting.

Synonyms

to rebuff
vsto cold-shoulder
18 7.7

To say no to someone or their offer in a quick rude way

uses deliberate silent indifference rather than direct abrupt refusal
to slight
vsto cold-shoulder
  • Offensive
12 6.1

Treat someone as unimportant or ignore them

is less directly insulting and uses deliberate silent indifference
to snub
vsto cold-shoulder
7 6.3

To ignore someone on purpose to show disrespect

is more indirect and uses quiet indifference to show displeasure
to give someone the brush-off
vsto cold-shoulder
  • Informal
2 7.5

To reject someone quickly and rudely

is more about quiet neglect rather than blunt or direct rejection
to freeze off
vsto cold-shoulder
  • Informal
1 8.5

Treat someone in a cold way and ignore them to show dislike

is less openly contemptuous and focuses on quiet social indifference

Antonyms

to welcome
583 1.0

Greet someone in a friendly way when they arrive

embrace
20 3.4

A warm, willing acceptance of someone or an idea

How Distant

to ostracize
  • US
31 7.7
to shun
26 4.6
to snub
7 6.3
to cold-shoulder
  • Informal
1 7.7
to ignore
∞ 1.0
to avoid
∞ 1.0
to overlook
243 2.9

Surface Forms

cold-shoulder infinitive
cold-shouldered past
cold-shouldered past participle
cold-shouldering present participle
cold-shoulders third person singular

Morphology

cold-shoulder = cold shoulder (opaque) = cold + shoulder

The verb comes from the idiomatic noun phrase 'cold shoulder', but the meaning 'deliberately ignore' is not directly predictable from the literal meanings of 'cold' and 'shoulder'.

Etymology

Cold-shoulder comes from the image of giving someone a 'cold shoulder', either by turning your shoulder away or, as a helpful memory picture, offering cold meat instead of a warm welcome. So to cold-shoulder someone is to ignore them on purpose and show you do not welcome them.