deep freeze
2
6.0
- noun
- /dip friz/
:
congelación profunda
- You're the first group to come out of the deep freeze, and we're all so happy about it here at the MSL Foundation.
- went into a deep freeze
And they've been stuck in this like, deep freeze for over a decade.
- And they've been stuck in this like, deep freeze for over a decade.
Examples
-
The combined shocks of the Tiananmen bloodshed and the subsequent collapse of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union threw this nascent liberal approach into a deep freeze.
Academic text (1992) -
Fogarty, will you get us out of this deep freeze?
-
And they've been stuck in this like, deep freeze for over a decade.
-
Like part of him went into deep freeze when he'd walked out on her.
Fiction book (1990) -
Antarctica's vast size acts as a deep freeze likely to slow any melt of the southern continent.
Blog text (34) -
We'd had this wonderful glimmer of hope, And then the Sea of Japan incident put our relations with Kim ll-Jong back into the deep freeze.
-
As I have said previously, Libyan society is chronically backward, with no political culture, civil society institutions, or history of tolerance or political participation, and this state of backwardness was put in a deep freeze for the 42 years of Gaddafi's reign.
Blog text (34) -
Many projects are currently in a deep freeze due to budget cuts and a lack of funding.
-
The negotiations between the two countries have entered a deep freeze, with no signs of resuming anytime soon.
-
Following the scandal, the company's expansion plans were thrown into a deep freeze, halting all new initiatives.
Synonyms
154
5.3
Officially stop an activity, for example the use of money or assets
70
4.3
A temporary stop of an activity or service
35
3.5
A time when movement or activity stops completely
21
4.9
Put off until later
12
8.1
Not moving or changing for a time
1
4.9
A state in which a plan or project is left unused for later
Antonyms
How Frozen
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'deep freeze' is a straightforward composition of 'deep' (very/extreme) + 'freeze' (a period or state of freezing), so its meaning as an extended period of very cold weather is directly derivable from the parts. This intensifier + state pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily understand it.
Etymology
The noun deep freeze comes from the image of putting something into very strong cold: deep means very strong and freeze means to stop moving because of ice. So, putting a plan in a deep freeze is like freezing it solid, which means it is 'on hold'.