cold-blooded

adjective

cold-blood·​ed ˈkōl(d)-ˈblə-dəd 

1

a

: done or acting without consideration, compunction, or clemency

cold-blooded murder

b

: matter-of-fact, emotionless

a cold-blooded assessment

2

: having cold blood

specifically : having a body temperature not internally regulated but approximating that of the environment

3

or coldblood

ˈkōl(d)-ˈbləd 

: of mixed or inferior breeding

4

: noticeably sensitive to cold

cold-bloodedly adverb

cold-bloodedness noun

Synonyms

• affectless
• callous
• case-hardened
• compassionless
• desensitized
• hard
• hard-boiled
• hard-hearted
• heartless
• indurate
• inhuman
• inhumane
• insensate
• insensitive
• ironhearted
• merciless
• obdurate
• pachydermatous
• pitiless
• remorseless
• ruthless
• slash-and-burn
• soulless
• stony
• stoney
• stonyhearted
• take-no-prisoners
• thick-skinned
• uncharitable
• unfeeling
• unmerciful
• unsparing
• unsympathetic

Examples of cold-blooded in a Sentence

a cold-blooded criminal who never once showed an ounce of mercy to his victims

the cold-blooded selfishness shown by the miser when confronted by people in need

a cold-blooded assessment of the situation showed that the company needed either to lay off workers or go bankrupt

he may not be as fancy as the other horses they own, but that cold-blooded gelding is safe and gentle

Recent Examples on the Web

While scandal doesn’t hit architects quite as often as, say, politicians, the architecture profession is not immune from controversy, fraud, and even cold-blooded murder. —Elizabeth Stamp, Architectural Digest, 25 Dec. 2024

This cold-blooded execution on a New York City street in broad daylight was a shocking act of violence. —Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024

No one who has followed the news over the past 14½ months should be surprised at the support Luigi Mangione is receiving for his cold-blooded and premeditated murder of Brian Thompson. —Alan M. Dershowitz, New York Daily News, 22 Dec. 2024

For fans who haven’t seen the Sky and Peacock adaptation of the 1972 book and 1973 feature film starring Edward Fox as cold-blooded assassin the Jackal, the news is sure to be confusing. —K.j. Yossman, Variety, 19 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

cold-blooded

adjective

cold-blood·​ed

ˈkōl(d)-ˈbləd-əd

1

: lacking or showing a lack of natural human feelings

a cold-blooded criminal

2

: having a body temperature not regulated by the body and close to that of the environment

3

: sensitive to cold

cold-bloodedly adverb

Medical Definition

cold-blooded

adjective

cold-blood·​ed ˈkōl(d)-ˈbləd-əd 

: having a body temperature not internally regulated but approximating that of the environment : poikilothermic

cold-blooded amphibians and reptiles

cold-bloodedness noun