cold feet

noun

Definition of cold feetnext
as in uncertainty

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cold feet That has sent maritime insurance rates through the roof and given some financiers and shipping companies cold feet about tempting fate and navigating through the troubled waters. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 15 June 2026 As for whether Smirnoff-Skyy's flair might give some buyers cold feet, listing agent Adelaida Mejia of Vanguard Properties isn't losing any sleep over it. — Itay Hod, CBS News, 9 June 2026 Advertisers began to get cold feet about the vigilante-like tactics used to investigate alleged predators. — Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026 Or, sometimes the non-comics get cold feet on a certain joke. — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 12 May 2026 The $10 billion that Cursor keeps even if the deal doesn’t happen looks, to my traditional M&A reporter brain, like the largest breakup fee on record (a smart move, given Musk’s penchant for getting cold feet). — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 23 Apr. 2026 But Borgli isn’t just delivering a biting satire on the ultimate case of cold feet. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2026 Did OpenAI’s discontinuation of Sora force Disney out of the deal, or did Disney get cold feet first? — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 25 Mar. 2026 And Indonesia isn’t the only country getting cold feet. — Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 18 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cold feet
  1. uncertainty
  2. doubt
  3. suspense
  4. dread
  5. angst
  6. torment
  7. foreboding
  8. upset
Noun
  • In addition to hurting consumers, Bird asserts that the uncertainty, along with Paramount’s $7 million ticking fee, will pull down an industry that’s just starting to get back on its feet.
    — Jack Dunn, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Businesses and consumers are caught in the middle, facing uncertainty about how much prices may increase.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of uncertainty
Noun
  • In most other franchises, a 4-2 road trip through two New York boroughs could calm the speculation, but one with such enormous standards — and that has already taken drastic action — doesn’t receive that benefit of the doubt.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Without a doubt, opponents of the deal will seize on that as evidence of its being exploitative and will demand renegotiation on that basis.
    — Michael Lynch, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of doubt
Noun
  • But Gareth Fry’s thundering, rumbling sound design too often oversells the suspense.
    — Frank Rizzo, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The only suspense is around a youngster like Armstead, who has had a good camp.
    — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of suspense
Noun
  • The joy Lisa has with her RHUGT cast compared with the dread her RHOSLC cast seems to bring her really bums me out — especially because of how much of this trip is championing the sisterhood of Housewives.
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Along with this came the profound dread that straight white men (like me) felt about saying a single wrong sentence and facing the possibility of permanent exile without forgiveness.
    — Charles Finch, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of dread
Noun
  • One of the largest online voice acting communities on Reddit, r/VoiceActing, is full of angst and anger, but few solutions.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
  • For all the emotion and angst around the Tigers, Hinch wants his players to stay locked in on the micro.
    — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of angst
Noun
  • Jolene In Jolene, released in 1974, Parton’s lyrics capture the torment of watching your lover flirt with someone else.
    — Wendy Hargreaves, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Sochor confessed to the crime, but her body has never been found − still a torment to her family.
    — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 11 July 2026
Definition of torment
Noun
  • On stage, the audience is the camera, peering into a cutaway of set designer Fly Davis’ ominous, two-story house, lit with foreboding foreshadowing by Anna Watson.
    — Frank Rizzo, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • On his first appearance for Peak Oil, the Mancunian producer animates foreboding, percussive bass music with tricky details and Escherian grooves.
    — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 30 July 2026
Definition of foreboding
Noun
  • And, yes, if FSU could pull off an upset at Alabama or at Miami, those wins would strengthen the perception of the program.
    — Bob Ferrante, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Flag football Panorama pulled off the biggest upset of the week, defeating Eagle Rock in four overtimes.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of upset

Browse Nearby Words

cold-eyed
cold feet
cold fish
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Cite this Entry

“Cold feet.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cold%20feet. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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