left out in the cold


adjective, colder, coldest.
feeling an uncomfortable lack of warmth; chilled: The skaters were cold.
lacking in passion, emotion, enthusiasm, ardor, etc.; dispassionate: cold reason.
not affectionate, cordial, or friendly; unresponsive: a cold reply; a cold reception.
lacking sensual desire: She remained cold to his advances.
unexcitable; imperturbable: cold impassivity.
depressing; dispiriting: the cold atmosphere of a hospital waiting room.
lacking the warmth of life; lifeless: When the doctor arrived, the body was already cold.
faint; weak: The dogs lost the cold scent.
Slang. (in sports and games) not scoring or winning; ineffective: Cold shooting and poor rebounding were their undoing.
having cool colors, especially muted tones tending toward grayish blue.
being a cool color.
cold weather: He can't take the cold.
with complete competence, thoroughness, or certainty; absolutely: He learned his speech cold.
catch/take cold, to get or suffer from a cold: We all caught cold during that dreadful winter.
go cold, Slang. (in sports and games) to become unproductive or ineffective; be unable to score.
in cold blood. blood ( def 20 ).
left out in the cold, neglected; ignored; forgotten: After the baby came, the young husband felt left out in the cold. Also, out in the cold.
throw cold water on, to disparage; disapprove of; dampen the enthusiasm of: They threw cold water on her hopes to take acting classes.

before 950; Middle English; Old English cald, ceald; cognate with Gothic kalds, Old Norse kaldr, German kalt, Dutch koud; akin to Latin gel- in gelidus gelid

coldish, adjective
coldly, adverb
coldness, noun
overcold, adjective
overcoldly, adverb

1. frigid, gelid, frozen, freezing. Cold, chill, chilly, cool refer to various degrees of absence of heat. Cold refers to temperature possibly so low as to cause suffering: cold water. Chill suggests a penetrating cold which causes shivering and numbness: There was a chill wind blowing. Chilly is a weaker word, though it also connotes shivering and discomfort: a chilly room. Cool means merely somewhat cold, not warm: cool and comfortable. All have figurative uses. 4. indifferent, uninvolved, cool, unconcerned, imperturbable. 5. apathetic, unsympathetic, unfeeling, heartless, polite, formal, reserved, unfriendly, inimical, hostile. 7. uninspiring, dull. 8. calm, deliberate.

1. hot. 4. warm, emotional. 13. warm.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
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World English Dictionary
cold (kəʊld)
1.  having relatively little warmth; of a rather low temperature: cold weather; cold hands
2.  without sufficient or proper warmth: this meal is cold
3.  lacking in affection, enthusiasm, or warmth of feeling: a cold manner
4.  not affected by emotion; objective: cold logic
5.  dead
6.  sexually unresponsive or frigid
7.  lacking in freshness: a cold scent; cold news
8.  chilling to the spirit; depressing
9.  (of a colour) having violet, blue, or green predominating; giving no sensation of warmth
10.  metallurgy denoting or relating to a process in which work-hardening occurs as a result of the plastic deformation of a metal at too low a temperature for annealing to take place
11.  (of a process) not involving heat, in contrast with traditional methods: cold typesetting; cold technology
12.  informal (of a seeker) far from the object of a search
13.  denoting the contacting of potential customers, voters, etc, without previously approaching them in order to establish their interest: cold mailing
14.  cold comfort little or no comfort
15.  cold steel the use of bayonets, knives, etc, in combat
16.  from cold without advance notice; without giving preparatory information
17.  in cold blood showing no passion; deliberately; ruthlessly
18.  informal leave someone cold to fail to excite someone: the performance left me cold
19.  informal throw cold water on, pour cold water on to be unenthusiastic about or discourage
20.  the absence of heat regarded as a positive force: the cold took away our breath
21.  the sensation caused by loss or lack of heat
22.  informal in the cold, out in the cold neglected; ignored
23.  an acute viral infection of the upper respiratory passages characterized by discharge of watery mucus from the nose, sneezing, etc
24.  slang catch a cold to make a loss; lose one's investment
25.  informal without preparation: he played his part cold
26.  informal chiefly (US), (Canadian) thoroughly; absolutely: she turned him down cold
[Old English ceald; related to Old Norse kaldr, Gothic kalds, Old High German kalt; see cool]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Word Origin & History

O.E. cald (Anglian), ceald (W.Saxon), from P.Gmc. *kaldaz, possibly pp. adj. of *kal-/*kol-, from PIE base *gel-/*gol- "cold." Japanese has two words for "cold:" samui for coldness in the atmosphere or environment; tsumetai for things which are cold to touch, and also in the fig. sense, with ref. to
personalities, behaviors, etc. Sense in common cold is 1537, from symptoms resembling those of exposure to cold; meaning "not strong" (in reference to scent) is 1592, from hunting. Cold-hearted (1606) is originally in Shakespeare. Cold shoulder (1816, first in Sir Walter Scott), is probably originally a literal figure, but commonly used with a punning reference to "cold shoulder of mutton," a dish. Cold-call in the sales pitch sense first recorded 1972.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

cold (kōld)
A viral infection characterized by inflammation of the mucous membranes lining the upper respiratory passages and usually accompanied by malaise, fever, chills, coughing, and sneezing. Also called coryza, acute rhinitis, common cold, coryza.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
  1. chronic obstructive lung disease

  2. computer output to laser disk

The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
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