COLD TURKEY Synonyms: 14 Similar and Opposite Words

cold turkey

noun

Definition of cold turkey

as in clam

a cold aloof person my new boss is a cold turkey and definitely not one for chitchat

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 turkey Even if head coach Mike Elko and his staff stopped recruiting cold turkey today and didn't pick up their phones until after signing day, this class would already be in some rarefied air. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 June 2026 The step-by-step approach matters because going cold turkey rarely sticks. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 May 2026 The food menu has salads and breakfast sandwiches, paninis and burritos ($11-$15), as well as a lone cold turkey club. — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 13 May 2026 For advertisers, going cold turkey on clicks means shifting strategy from traffic quantity to conversion quality. — Ivan Doruda, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cold turkey

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cold turkey

Noun

The fallout has been steep, resulting in shredded nets, decimated clam beds and mussel stocks, and hundreds of shuttered fisheries along the Italian coast.

— Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 27 Aug. 2026
Imagine someone forgot a bowl of New England clam chowder in the back of a cloth-upholstered car during the height of a Florida summer.

— AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of clam

Noun

That impulse extends to dealing with occasional rude customers at her day gig, where the coworkers are nice but the boss, family-business heir Maxwell Sterling (Peter Serafinowicz), is one nasty cold fish.

— Dennis Harvey, Variety, 27 Nov. 2025
Lancelot, still the Round Table’s greatest hero, is a bit of a cold fish with an unexpected role to play as the saga winds to its close.

— Elizabeth Hand, Washington Post, 16 July 2024

Definition of cold fish

Noun

The Titanic sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean on April 14, 1912, after hitting an iceberg, taking with it approximately 1,500 passengers and crew members.

— Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 26 Aug. 2026
On a molecular level As an example of the distinction between energy and temperature, compare a cup of hot tea and an iceberg.

— Matthew Koss, The Conversation, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of iceberg

Browse Nearby Words

cold sweat

cold turkey

cold war

See all Nearby Words

Articles Related to cold turkey

Cite this Entry

Style

“Cold turkey.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cold%20turkey. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of cold turkey

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

8 Meaty Idioms

Why do we quit 'cold turkey'?

Talking Turkey at Thanksgiving

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

dissonant

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Popular in Wordplay

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Games & Quizzes