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Glite Dictionary
to lose one's cool

to lose one's cool

1 5.9
To suddenly become very angry and fail to control your feelings
  • idiom
  • Informal
: perder la calma
  • Don't lose your cool, okay?

Examples

Synonyms

to lose it
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
326 7.5

Suddenly stop controlling your feelings and become very angry or upset

is sudden anger specifically in high pressure situations
to flip
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
100 7.5

To suddenly become very angry, excited, or surprised

is sudden anger specifically linked to stress rather than excitement
to blow up
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
66 4.7

To suddenly become very angry and lose control

is sudden loss of self-control often tied to stress
to flip out
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
63 7.2

To suddenly lose control and become very angry or upset

is sudden anger typically linked to stress rather than excitement
to go ballistic
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
29 7.5

Suddenly become very angry

is sudden anger that often follows stressful pressure rather than extreme fury
to have a fit
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
28 5.3

To suddenly become very angry or upset and show it strongly

is sudden loss of calm typically linked to pressure or stress
to wig out
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
19 9.2

React with strong fear or excitement and lose control

is focused on sudden anger and loss of self-control
to throw a fit
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
18 6.1

To suddenly become very angry or upset in a loud, obvious way

is sudden anger often occurring in stressful situations
to fly off
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
8 5.3

To suddenly get very angry without warning

is sudden loss of calm commonly triggered by stress
to boil over
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
8 4.8

To suddenly lose control and show strong anger

focuses on loss of calm often in stressful situations
to flip shit
vsto lose one's cool
  • Offensive
3 9.9

To suddenly become very angry

is sudden anger that often follows stressful events
to flip your lid
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
1 8.6

To suddenly become very angry and lose control

is sudden anger often occurring in tense situations
to lose one's shit
vsto lose one's cool
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To suddenly become very angry or upset in a way you cannot control

is sudden loss of calm usually without coarse language
to lose one's temper
vsto lose one's cool
1 3.7

To suddenly become very angry and not be able to control yourself

is sudden anger often caused by a stressful situation
to go into a tizzy
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
1 8.3

Get very upset and confused quickly

is sudden anger and loss of control rather than general confusion
to throw a wobbly
vsto lose one's cool
  • UK
1 9.9

To become suddenly very angry and upset in a dramatic way

is sudden anger often happening in tense or stressful moments
to blow one's top
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
8.0

To suddenly become very angry

is similar but highlights stress as a common trigger
to blow one's stack
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
8.6

Suddenly get very angry and show it

is the sudden loss of calm often in stressful moments
to flip one's lid
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
9.1

To become suddenly very angry and lose control

is sudden loss of calm commonly due to stress
to flip the bitch switch
vsto lose one's cool
  • Offensive
9.9

To suddenly become very angry and behave in a mean way

is sudden loss of calm that may not include aggression
to flip one's wig
vsto lose one's cool
  • Informal
9.9

To suddenly become very angry and lose control of yourself

is sudden anger often tied to stressful circumstances

Antonyms

to keep one's cool
  • Informal
1 3.4

Stay calm and control your feelings when things are hard

How Angry

to fly off
  • Informal
8 5.3
to lose one's cool
  • Informal
1 5.9
to anger
103 1.0

Surface Forms

lose one's cool infinitive
losing one's cool present participle
loses one's cool third person singular
lost one's cool past
lost one's cool past participle

Morphology

lose + one's + cool

The meaning is directly derived from combining 'lose' (to cease to have) with 'cool' (composure/self-control); the possessive 'one's' simply marks whose composure is lost. This compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically (e.g. Spanish perder la calma, French perdre son sang-froid), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can readily infer the idiomatic meaning.

Etymology

The idiom lose one's cool shows a simple picture: cool means calm, and if you lose that calm you 'heat up' with anger. So, to lose one's cool means 'to become angry' or 'to lose self-control'.