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stone-cold

stone-cold

1 4.1
Very cold with no warmth left
  • adjective
  • /ˈstoʊn koʊld/
translation icon : helado
  • Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my stone cold British heart.
  • a stone-cold killer

Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my stone cold British heart.

Examples

  • Her coffee cup is steaming, his is stone cold, perhaps suggesting he has been waiting a while for her.

  • His eyes were stone-cold, but soon softened into indifference.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • They're stone cold.

  • I poured myself a cup of stone-cold coffee and grimaced at the taste.

  • After sitting outside in the winter air, the soup turned stone-cold before I could enjoy it.

  • The weather was stone-cold, making it unbearable to be outside without a warm coat.

Synonyms

icy
vsstone-cold
89 1.0

Very cold with surfaces covered in ice

focuses on total lack of warmth rather than surface conditions
ice-cold
vsstone-cold
34 1.0

Very cold, like frozen water

describes the same extreme cold without the hard chill image
frigid
vsstone-cold
30 4.1

Very cold, like ice or freezing air

is the everyday expression for total loss of warmth
freezing cold
vsstone-cold
15 1.3

Very cold, at or below freezing

states plain total coldness without stressing unpleasant feeling
bone-chilling
vsstone-cold
5 7.0

Very cold or scary

refers to the same extreme chill without implying fear or dread
chilled
vsstone-cold
2 2.2

Being relaxed and calm or made cold

refers only to absolute physical coldness, not emotional calmness
frozen
vsstone-cold
1 1.0

Covered with ice because of very cold weather

describes the same loss of warmth without implying physical change
stone cold
vsstone-cold
  • Informal
1 3.6

Very cold with no warmth

is the same meaning but presented as a different written form
cold as balls
vsstone-cold
  • Offensive
1 9.9

People say this to mean very cold in a joking, exaggerated way

expresses the same absolute coldness in a neutral register
cold as a witch's tit
vsstone-cold
  • Offensive
1 9.9

Very cold in a way that feels unpleasant

states the same intense cold in a plain, standard way
freezing
vsstone-cold
1.0

So cold that water turns to ice

emphasizes absolute lack of warmth without naming the temperature point
perishingly cold
vsstone-cold
  • Informal
7.2

Very cold in a way that makes being outside difficult

describes complete coldness but without stressing unbearable intensity
icily cold
vsstone-cold
4.7

Very low in temperature and clearly unfriendly

means sheer total cold without added emotional harshness
parky
vsstone-cold
  • UK
9.1

Feeling quite cold, often said about the weather

indicates total lack of warmth but without the informal regional tone

Antonyms

hot
1.0

Having a high temperature and able to burn your skin

1.0

Having a comfortable level of heat, often after recent use

How Cold

freezing
1.0
stone-cold
1 4.1
cold
1.0
chilly
100 1.0
cool
65 1.0

Surface Forms

stone-cold positive

Morphology

stone-cold = stone + cold (transparent) = stone + cold

A direct intensifying compound where 'stone' functions to mean 'completely' + 'cold', so the overall meaning can be derived from the parts.

Etymology

Stone-cold comes from the image of a stone that has no warmth and the word cold, so it means completely cold, 'having lost all warmth'.